Meetings in grief
by Laureiel
Summary: After the loss of two mothers danger is very close to the twins and Legolas, especially when Legolas has to travel to Imladris because his own house is no longer safe for him. The once so peacefull valley of Rivendell suffers under the grief of the departed lady, can three elflings overcome their grief and can they survive a meeting with the murderer of Legolas' mother? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Meetings in grief**

**hello everyone! I've decided to start a new story! I hope you all like it and please review!**

**Summary: Two mothers lost. A plot to kill king and son. A disguised elfling in Rivendell. A traitor. **

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they a belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is all for entertainment.**

**The twins are 15 year **

**Arwen is 9 year**

**Legolas is 12/13 year.**

…

_Dear lord Elrond,_

_I write this letter to announce a great evil. No longer is their peace under the trees of Mirkwood. My wife has been found dead, brutally slain by humans. My son was injured grievous, both mentally and psychically, during the attack.  
>I shall hereby describe how these humans look; Their leader is a men called 'Basson.' He speaks Westron with a strange accent; He cannot speak the letter 'H.' He has red hair and he is about 180 centimetre. His men are all Easterling, we know a few names; Brandon, Yorrick and Olaf. We do not know where these humans are now. <em>

_I declare hereby these humans guilty of murder at the queen and attempt murder at the crown prince. Everybody who has the chance to kill them is permitted to do so. In the name of vengeance for the life of queen Mirilya._

_Sincerely,_

_Thranduil, King of Mirkwood._

The letter was still in Glorfindel's hands when he walked towards Elrond's study. He was sure Elrond had other business but it would surely do no good if they didn't respond to the king. He sighted, he had never thought that running Rivendell was so much work. Glorfindel stopped by the library. He could as well write a respond himself, Elrond surely wouldn't do now. There was actually very little Elrond did nowadays. He had locked himself up in his study, slowly fading away. He opened the door and found Erestor sitting there. 'Erestor! Still busy with paper work?'

Erestor sighted and nodded. 'Aye, it seems there is no end on. I already had so much and now with all that is going on…'

He spoke no further, nor did he have to. Everybody knew what was going on this days. Only a few weeks ago Elladan, Elrohir and Glorfindel himself had brought the lady Celebrían to Rivendell, for healing. The balrog slayer could still see those images. The orc cave. The lady Celebrían on the ground, as if she were already dead. The battle cries the twins had screamed when they charged. It seemed all still so unreal. But yet it was not. The lady Celebrían had sailed, saying she couldn't find light and happiness on Arda had gone from bad to worse. Firstly, small Arwen had left Rivendell, to dwell in Lothlorien. Secondly, Elrond had locked himself up in his study, only coming out to eat and sleep, refusing to talk to anyone. And Thirdly, Elladan and Elrohir. Since their mother had gone the had changed. A lot. On every opportunity they sneaked out the house and went orc hunting, sometimes with the rangers, sometimes on their own. Even now they were outside, fighting orcs.

'I am too busy. I was on the way to Elrond but I don't think he wants to see me. A letter has arrived from Mirkwood. It needs answering. What shall I write? I'm not very good in diplomatic, I am a warrior, after all!'

Erestor smiled. Since Celebrían was gone, he had not done that very often. Only on the rare occasions that Glorfindel came in his office. It was strange, their friendship. He was a calm librarian, a lover of books and a skilful diplomat. Glorfindel was almost exactly the opposite, a great warrior, maybe even the best that still existed. But not a very good at diplomatic. He sometimes had his bright moments but not often. He most of the time said exactly what he thought of something, no matter what the consequences could be. Even in their appearance they were each other's opposite. Glorfindels blond, shining locks seemed even brighter compared to Erestors pitch black hair. And while Glorfindel always carried a sword, Erestor always carried his writing stuff. Still, the two were best friends.

'Just write something like: We shall do our uppermost best to find those humans and kill them. Condolence with your lost.'

'I shall do that. Many evil has happened the last weeks. Two mothers are forever lost to their children, I'm afraid.'

'You do not know that. Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen shall see their mother when they pass to the undying lands.'

'I do not mean that. Of course they are going to see their mother in the undying lands, but their mother has not seen them. She shall not see them grow, she shall not share the many happy moments to come. Her children shall seem strangers for her, when they sail. And the Queen of Mirkwood is now in Mandos' halls. After a time she shall be revived, of course, and live in Valinor happily, but she didn't want to be there yet, and she can't go back to Arda. The little prince shall not be small anymore when he meets her again and thus he becomes a stranger for her, someone she loved and someone she wanted to raise but couldn't.'

'Mellon nin, I'm afraid you are right. but I'm afraid that Celebrían is going to meet the twins sooner then she and we would like. They care not for the risk they take. They are not even adults! Still they sneak off to kill those foul beasts. What if they journey to Mandos' halls during such a trip? No one of the Peredhil will survive another loss, so shortly after this one.'

At that moment, the dining bell rang. Erestor jumped up from his chair, saying a few words that are not to be repeated here. 'The banquet! I totally forgot about that. I'm supposed to welcome those traders!'

He ran down the corridor, to his room to find formal clothing, leaving behind a very surprised Glorfindel who muttered, 'I wonder where he learned those words, he surely never used them when his is being diplomatic.'

…

'_No! I beg you, take me! Leave my boy, leave him!' a voice screamed. The voice belonged to a fair elven maiden, her name was Mirilya, glittering jewel, and she was the queen of Mirkwood. _

'_Take me! Please! Take me!' The ones she begged were standing in a circle. In the middle lay a boy. His golden hair was muddy and he was injured. Everything hurt. The humans continued to kick him, viciously, and he started to wish he could just sink away. No scream escaped from his lips, no tear escaped from his eyes. They had already been shed and his voice was hoarse from his screams earlier. _

'_Shut up! Or he'll just suffer something more!' A human sneered. He wanted to say something more but the leader stopped him. 'I think 'e's 'ad enough. Kill the queen, the boy will not live for much longer. We're going, I don't want to explain to the king who did this.'_

_The boy on the ground didn't move. He had learned to fear this voice. It was from the leader, Basson was his name. Only a second later he remembered what the man had said. 'No! Nana! No!'_

_Her voice was a mere whisper, drifting to his ears as he lost consciousness. 'Legolas, Ú-firo i laiss e-guil gîn. My little Greenleaf.' _/may the leaves of your life never die/

'NO! NANA! NO!'

Legolas woke up, screaming and crying. Everything slowly started to fall into place. He was in his bedroom again. Sweat covered his forehead .Someone came rushing in. 'Legolas! What happened?'

Thranduil hugged his son closely, letting the tears stream again. It seemed all that was left to do. 'Shh, Greenleaf, you are safe… Odulen an gi meriad.' /_I am here to protect you_/

'Ada! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!'

'You don't have to be. There was nothing you could do. Be quiet my little Greenleaf. I will not leave you.'

'Hannon le, ada.' The prince was yawning again.

'Just sleep, my little Greenleaf, just sleep.'

…

**Well, that was the first chapter… I hope you all liked it and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they a belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is all for entertainment.**

**The twins are 15 year. **

**Legolas is 12/13 year.**

…

'Come out of the tree! Now!' a very angry elven king stood at the base of a gigantic oak tree. High in its branches, one could see a small figure. His golden hair moved in the wind and the stubborn look on his face matched the outrageous expressions on the face of his father.

'Legolas Greenleaf, if you do not come out of this tree immediately I will ground you for the rest of the century!'

'I don't care! I'm not coming down!'

The king wanted to say more but he stopped when he saw Angasicil, one of his advisors, running towards them. 'Your highness, the men out Dale have arrived. They asked an audience with you.'

Thranduil nodded, I'm coming after the prince has come down from this tree!'

Angasicil cast a glance to the top of the oak and saw the prince. 'Do not worry, my lord. I shall get him from there! I shall let him wait in your study. If you want, you can talk to him after the meeting.'

'Hannon le. Then I shall go immediately, please make sure the prince remains in my study 'till I've talked to him.'

'As you wish my lord. He will stay in the study.'

The king turned around and walked away. Angasicil waited until the king was gone. 'My prince, please come down! It shall soon start raining!'

'You cannot force me!'

Angasicil felt that he became irritated with the prince. Ever since the attack the prince had become trouble. Often he would wander alone in the dark forest or climb a tree, like now, and refuse to come down. The problem was that the prince was a very good climber, he could out climb most of the staff and even some of the warriors. Angasicil however, was someone he could not out climb, and they both knew. 'If it is necessary, I shall climb the tree and drag you out of it. Please, my prince, just come with me.'

Legolas sighed, why did everybody come when he wanted to be alone. If he was in his room, a teacher or a servant would come, when he was wandering in the forest, a warrior would find him. All the time he thought he found a save place, they found him. He didn't need others that cared about him! A movement behind him made him look up. Angasicil stood on a branch, a little to his left. 'Come, my prince.'

With no choice left, Legolas followed the adviser to his father's study. 'Wait here my prince. Do you think it is necessary to post some guards at the door or can I trust that you do not walk away?'

'I will stay here, I promise.'

Angasicil smiled, 'Good. I shall see you at the next council. Don't forget that your father has asked you to arrange a few thing for the coming traders.'

'I know.' Legolas replied curtly. Legolas searched for a chair he could sit on while his feet actually touched the floor. It was one of the things he hated; one of the things that reminded him how young he was. He didn't feel young anymore. Ever since he and his mother were captured by those humans. No one could understand him, no one!

Legolas was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice another being creeping in the room. Only when he heard the ragged breathing of someone, way to close for his liking, he jumped up, just in time to avoid a fatal blow.

The attacker lifted his knife again. Legolas jumped out the way again, this time he wasn't so lucky; a slight cut was the result. He searched for something to defend himself with. He came not higher than the man's shoulder and one glance was enough to see he was no match for the man. With only one choice left Legolas leaped up the desk and grabbed a shelf from the huge bookcase. He started to climb up but he was stopped. The human had grabbed his ankle and tried to pull him down.

The combined weight of the elf and human was too much for the bookcase. It started to falter and fell down. Legolas had seen it coming and tried to leap out of the way. He fell on the desk, and he quickly crawled underneath it. With a loud 'thump' the bookcase fell.

The human was not so lucky; the bookcase fell above him. The heavy construction pinned him on the floor and killed him instantly.

The door slammed open, revealing a worried king and his advisers. The scene before them led them speechless for a moment. The huge bookcase had fallen over, a few papers swirled in the room. A human, still clutching a knife, lay dead on the floor. It was not hard to guess why he was here. 'Legolas!'

For a moment it stayed dead silent, then a tiny voice answered, it seemed to come from under the bookcase. 'I'm fine. I'm trapped under the desk.'

Thranduil and his advisers didn't hesitate, they lifted the bookcase up, just high enough for Legolas to crawl away. 'Ion nin! Ci vaer?' /_are you well?_/

'Im maer.' /_I'm well_/

The king looked to the dead human. 'How did he get in here?! Where were the guards?'

Legolas looked to the human, closely. He had seen this face before. 'I know who he is. He is part of the group that… killed Nana.' The last two word were a mere whisper and only the king could hear them.

'Your highness! It is impossible for a human to sneak past the guards. I'm afraid there's only one conclusion.' Angasicil spoke. He looked shocked and even angered. 'Is it possible someone in the palace wants the prince dead?'

His question was answered with silence. Was it possible? Was there a traitor in Mirkwood? The king was the first who spoke. 'I'm afraid someone wants, although I do not know why. Please summon some guards, they may never leave the prince' side from now on.'

A few moments later the guards were alerted and they escorted the prince to his room, after making sure the prince was indeed fine.

The king and Angasicil remained in the room. 'Your highness, is it safe to keep Legolas here?'

'I'm afraid we have no choice, where else could he go?'

'To another elven realm. Imladris for example.'

'If there is a traitor here, it is an elf. That means Legolas is not safer there then here.'

'I shall travel with Legolas, we can go disguised. I know how you can dye your hair with berries. If we teach Legolas how to do that, he looks just like an elf from Imladris.'

'I shall trust you in this. When we find the traitor, I shall send a messenger. Make sure Legolas keeps hidden until then. Don't speak about his identity, not even with Lord Elrond.'

'I promise that I shall keep Legolas hidden. Shall we leave tomorrow morning?'

'The sooner the better.'

…

'Elladan and Elrohir! Come back immediately!' The twins had tried to sneak out, again. This time Glorfindel had caught them. Two pair of grey eyes looked at him. For a moment Glorfindel believed he looked in the eyes of a dead men, both of the twins showed not the tiniest bit of emotion.

'Have you gone completely mad?! Sneaking of in the dark. You are no small elflings anymore. Follow me.'

The twins looked at each other before following Glorfindel, still no expression in their eyes. They walked to their rooms. It all didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. When they all were seated Glorfindel spoke again. 'Why? Why do you have to go orc hunting? It can only result in getting yourself killed.'

The twins didn't react. 'Why do you sneak off? If you want to go on patrol, ask your father.'

Elrohir winced visibly by those words and Elladan said. 'As if he cares! It doesn't matter him what we are doing! He only sits in his study.'

Glorfindel shook his head. 'That's not true. Your father cares about you.'

'He cares! Lasto i lalaith nîn! When was the last time you saw Adar? He locks himself up in the study and he doesn't care what happens! WE are doing something! We make sure no vile creature shall ever set foot in Imladris.' /_listen to my laughter_/

'This is not the solution. I cannot forbid you to hunt orcs, nor can I forbid you to seek your vengeance. But, please, do it as safe as possible. Go with the patrols, they are greater in number and if anything should go wrong, they can get help. And if you really want a small number, I myself shall go with you.'

The twins were stunned for a moment. This was not what they expected. A lecture or even punishment they had expected. It was all that was necessary to break through their stoic façade. Elrohir started to cry softly, the first time since his mother had sailed. 'I just… I just miss them all. Nana is gone, Arwen is to Lothlorien, and Ada doesn't seem to care about anything anymore. I want it to be like it was.'

Glorfindel hugged them both. 'Sleep now. Meet me tomorrow in the hall of fire. We shall speak further. I still have some business to do.'

The twins went to bed and for a moment Glorfindel had a strange déjà vu, he saw two small dark haired baby's lay side to side in a small cradle. Both slept quietly and peacefully. 'What business do you have?'

Glorfindel laughed grimly. He looked a bit like a wolf Elrohir thought. 'I'm going to have a chat with a certain Elf lord. This nonsense has taken long enough!'

…

**I hope you liked it and if you have any comment, please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. **

**Legolas is 12/13 year.**

…

'Elrond! Open the door!' Glorfindel was knocking on the door to Elrond's study. He had done so for the past 15 minutes and he was becoming very irritated. 'If you don't open your door in a second I'm going to… Find a key!'

It stayed still inside. Fuming, Glorfindel turned around. 'I'm going to find that key Elrond!'

Still muttering curses under his breath Glorfindel walked away, opening every drawer and looking under every table he came across. No room he walked past. Every bed, every desk, every corner in the last homely home was searched by the Balrog Slayer. 'Damn it! Where are those keys!'

Every elf he came past hurried away, no one wanted to face the outraged Elven lord. The house was a mess. Pillows, blankets, warped carpets, books and some jewellery were the things that pursued Glorfindel's steps. Some very interesting exclamations were heard when the elf ripped an age old carpet from the wall. 'Glorfindel, by the stars! What are doing?!'

Erestor popped his head out the library after the curses he had heard coming from Glorfindel's mouth. 'Such language! You ought not to talk like that, what if the twins had heard you?'

It was all Glorfindel could take, he snapped. 'I DON'T GIVE A…'

'IF YOU EVER WANT TO COME IN THE LIBRARY; DON'T FINISH THAT SENTENCE!'

'WHERE ARE THOSE KEYS?'

'What?' Erestor was completely stunned. Was all this commotion because of some keys? 'Have you locked yourself out?!'

'NO, YOU DIM- WITTED LIBRARIAN! I HAVE TO GO TO ELROND!'

'APOLOGISE!'

'YOU CANNOT MAKE ME!'

The twins had waken from all the commotion. Both were shocked to see their tutors arguining like to small children. 'YES, I CAN'

'CAN NOT'

'CAN TOO'

'CAN NOT'

'I have the key!' Erestor almost sung, annoying Glorfindel even more.

'GIVE THAT DAMNED KEY!'

'APOLOGISE!'

'GIVE-ME-THAT-KEY'

'first, you have to say sorry!'

'FINE! SORRY! NOW GIVE ME THAT KEY!' Glorfindel leaped forward and grabbed the key. He turned around, almost knocking the twins over. 'WATCH WERE YOU STAND, YOU…'

His voice died away when he saw who stood there. 'Oh… Hello. Did you sleep well? Anyway, I have to go… some business, you know. Well, bye!' and with those words he ran away.

Erestor looked rather embarrassed. It was not very long ago he had lectured the twin to behave like adults, after they had almost set the library on fire. They hadn't forgotten, apparently, because two huge, devilish grins spread over their faces. 'Well… I too have some business. Bye!' He turned around and walked into the library.

The twins looked at the door for a moment, and then they doubled over in laughter. 'Behave like adults! Or you shall be treated like children.' Elrohir said, imitating Erestor's voice.

Elladan grinned. 'You know, I'm sure some of those maidens that are picking flowers in the garden would love to hear about this… conversation.'

Still grinning, they went to the garden but they didn't found the maidens they were looking for. 'Ada? What are you doing here?'

Elrond himself sat on a bench, near a rosebush. 'Walking and thinking, ion nin, like I've been all day.'

Elladan snickered again. 'Did Glorfindel know?'

An outraged scream from Elrond's study answered that question. 'I should run, if I were you, Ada.'

Elrond smiled slightly, the smile didn't reach his eyes but it was a smile nonetheless. 'You have not seen me.' With those words he stood up and ran away, in an very un-elf-like manner.

…

'Legolas, waken!' a whisper woke Legolas. He saw a dark figure standing over him. 'Angasicil! What are you doing?'

'Hush, my prince, get dressed and follow me.' A few minutes later, the prince and the advisor sneaked through the palace, to Thranduil's study. Legolas was surprised when he saw that the lights were still on. The door swung open, before one of them could knock. 'Come in, quick!'

At the Thranduil's desk laid a beautiful bow. 'Legolas, listen to me, ion nin. Someone is trying to kill you. You are not safe here. Angasicil is going to take you to Imladris. You and he shall stay there until we found the traitor. Listen to me very carefully, when you leave this woods you are not Thranduilion anymore, you are Angasicilion. Angasicil will teach you how to dye your hair.'

Legolas couldn't believe his ears. His father wanted him to leave? 'What?'

Thranduil didn't answer immediately. He waved at Angasicil, showing that he wanted some time with his son alone. After Angasicil had left, he spoke. 'I have this bow made for you, ion nin. It is a very special one, take it.'

Legolas hesitantly reached to the bow. He studied it carefully. 'I can open it here.'

And indeed, in the beautiful bow was a small space, in the space laid a parchment. 'This bow is made of very special wood; it is from the first tree that Oropher planted in Greenwood the Great. Its wood can only be used by a descendant of Oropher. No one but you and I can open it. The parchment in it is a map, if you get lost, you can use it. You have studied much maps in your lessons, I'm sure you could find your way with this one, if necessary.'

Legolas was quiet for a moment. Then he watched his bow again. 'Hannon le, Ada.'

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. 'Legolas, put on your cloak and travel gear. You have to go.'

The prince and the king hugged each other one more time, before Legolas turned around.

'Guren níniatha n'i lû n'i a-govenitham, stay well, Ion nin.' _/ My heart shall weep until it sees you again/_

'Novaer, Adar.' /_farewell, father._/

Angasicil laid a hand on Legolas' shoulder. 'From now on, we have to pretend as if we are father and son. Once we're out the forest, I shall dye your hair. Let us go.'

With one last look on his father's study, Legolas nodded and walked away. Nobody heard it when the two elves sneaked through the hallways and escaped the palace. The dark trees rose before them. Their journey had begun.

…

**Thanks for all the reviews! I hope to get some reviews for this chapter also… it would be a great help.**

**Issy: Thank you. I try to update at least every week, sometimes sooner. I hope you liked this chapter as well?**

**Nira lani: I'm glad you like it. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you in any way?**

**Beegee: Thanks, I am glad you liked the last chapters and I'm glad you try to be critique; I always want to better my writing. I think you are right about the beta reader, English is not my native language and I know I write it far from perfect. I am actually searching for a beta at the moment. I hope you also enjoyed this chapter and if you have any critique; don't hesitate to tell me. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (in human years)**

**Legolas is 12/13 year. (in human years)**

…

'They are behind us! Run!' Angasicil grabbed Legolas and forced him to run faster. Behind them was a group of humans, trying to keep up with the two elves, like they had been doing for the past moments. The two elves were certainly faster but they were in a huge disadvantage: two against fifteen. Legolas dared to look back for a moment, the humans were starting to fall back. His relief endured for a few seconds, then another group was upon them. 'An ambush! Turn back, my prince!'

The sound of clashing weapons could soon be heard. Angasicil had his sword and Legolas his knifes. The two fought fiercely but to no avail, they were soon surrounded. 'Kill the adult!'

An order was screamed and in the commotion, everybody forget for a moment that they had to take the smaller one alive. Legolas looked around him, he was shocked when he recognised some of the attackers. The enormous muscular one was Olaf, and the small one with the crossbow was Yorrick. They both looked at Angasicil. Everyone was looking at Angasicil. Hesitating, Legolas took a step, and another. Soon he was running, away from the battle. No one paid attention. He hid behind a builder, not very far away.

A little time later rose a cheer from the men, quickly followed by confusion. 'Where is 'e? Where is the boy?'

'he's not here anymore!' Legolas heard the humans, and couldn't suppress a shiver. They were back. The murderers. The ones that took his mother's life. For a split second he wanted to fight them. To grab his bow and loosen as many arrows as possible. Hurt them, kill them. Like they had done. He was already crawling towards them when logic returned to him.

The humans were spreading out, searching for him. Angasicil was nowhere in sight. The only option he had was to wait and hope. Two humans were coming his direction. He tried to make himself even smaller, but to no avail.

One of the humans walked towards him. He grabbed an arrow. Aimed. Fired. For a moment nothing moved, and then his arrow hit the human. He was dead at once. He also shoot the second man. Legolas lowered his bow slowly, staring at the bodies. He had killed two humans! Two living beings, dead by his hands. He turned around and ran.

It was already dark when he noticed that he could still see the mountains. He also noticed something else. He was utterly lost. He had no idea where he was and where he should go.

He checked his bow and he opened the secret space. The map was old but somehow familiar. They had already crossed the mountains. He was in a forest. Somewhere he could hear the sound of two rivers, one on the right, one on the left. _I must be somewhere by the Angle_. The Angle was a place south-west from Imladris. The only thing he had to do was following the river on his right.

His stomach choose that moment to remind him that he needed to eat something. Opening his pack, he realised that Angasicil had had all their food. Angasicil had had almost everything, even their blankets and spare clothes. But Angasicil was no more. The humans wouldn't have cheered otherwise. Legolas sank against a tree. Angasicil was dead. The adrenaline was removing itself out his system and only now Legolas noticed how tired he really was. He climbed into a tree, not daring to sleep in on the ground, and his eyes glazed over in Elven sleep.

…

Erestor woke up in the library, he didn't remember falling asleep. On one half of his face you could see what he had written when he fell asleep. He groaned while he stretched his limbs and he decide he could better go to the kitchen to eat something.

He almost tripped over Glorfindel, who laid on the floor next to a chair. He had probably fallen of sometime in his sleep. When Erestor returned with the food Glorfindel, too, had woken. 'I've brought you something to eat.'

Glorfindel's eyes sparked at the mention of food. 'Hannon le. Why am I on the floor?'

'I don't know. Have you heard anything from the twins yet?'

Glorfindel grew serious again. 'No, I've not. I don't know how they managed it but they sneaked of again. They want to hunt orcs with the rangers.'

'Damn it! And Elrond? I heard he changed the locks on his study, nobody can come in now. This is not good. For a moment I thought everything was going to be fine, like it used to be.'

'Nothing shall ever be like it used to be. I only hope the twins and Elrond can overcome their grief before it is too late. I fear that Elrond is fading.'

Erestor smiled sadly. He sighed and returned his attention on his meal. The rest of their breakfast was eaten in silence, neither of them knowing what to say. After some time they grabbed their quills and started to work again, just like they had done the night before.

The day after this day went almost exactly the same, except that they did go to their beds to sleep this time. Glorfindel trained his classes and then went to the library, where he would greet Erestor. They would both work until late in the night. The next day it would all repeat itself. The days slowly became weeks. They hadn't seen Elrond and the twins in all that time. Every morning they both went to Elrond's study and every morning they walked away after not receiving an answer.

Erestor decided to take a walk after two weeks not being outside, it was the first change in their daily pattern and it would change more than he could ever imagined.

…

Legolas awoke shivering. Elves could normally not feel the cold but, being a child, he was more vulnerable for the elements then full grown elves. It had taken him almost a week to reach the ford of the Bruinen. His golden hair almost seemed to reflect the bright morning sun and it reminded him once again of his disguise. He had managed to find some berries with which he dyed his hair.

He watched his reflection in the waters for a moment before starting. When he was finished his hair was black, and he indeed looked like a Noldor elf. Only one thing remained different; his blue eyes. Still, he couldn't change the colour of his eyes so he just had to live with that.

It took him another two days before he reached Rivendell. It was not hard for him to get past the guards. He always did that at home. It was dark when he made his way to the house. He hesitated if he should wake anyone but decided against it. He curled himself up under a bush and lost himself in his dreams.

Erestor walked in the gardens when he heard something, he looked around very carefully, and saw something underneath a bush. He relaxed when he saw what was laying there. 'Penneth, wake up. It's morning already.'

Legolas woke with a start. For a moment he panicked, then he remembered where he was. The elf that had woken him looked slightly worried when he saw Legolas' dirty clothes and his dark, dissolved hair.

Erestor frowned when he saw the elfling shiver. The child could hardly be any older than 50 years! How did he come here? 'Shall we go inside? It's much warmer there.'

Legolas nodded, he definitely wanted some warmth. He let himself being lead through the house until they came in a great hall. 'This is the hall of fire. Take a seat.'

Legolas chose the chair that stood the nearest to the fire. He was happy when he noticed his feet could touch the floor. It didn't make him feel so small. The elf turned to a servant. 'Get something to eat for him, and call Glorfindel.'

That name made Legolas look up. The balrog slayer! How often had he heard songs about him, how often had he pretend to be him in his games with the other elflings.

Erestor saw the eyes of the elfling light up when he heard that name. 'You have heard of him? You must be interested in history then! I am Erestor, and I am in charge of the library. Would you want to see it sometime? But first, what is your name?'

Legolas panicked, a name? He stared into the flames and said the first thing that came in his mind. 'My name is Vanlach. Son of Angasicil.' /_Fair flame_/

'Where is your father?'

Legolas looked to the ground. 'Angasicil is dead.'

The librarian looked with pity to the young elf. He almost didn't dare to ask the next question. 'And your mother?'

Vanlach started to sob softly by the mention of his mother. Erestor hugged the small elfling closely, muttering soothing words. That was how Glorfindel found them. For a moment he just stood there and watched. When the elfling calmed down a bit he said: 'Erestor, is this elf the reason you asked me to come here?'

'He is indeed. I found him at the garden, sleeping under a bush. His name is Vanlach, Angasicilion. His parents are no more.'

Glorfindel shook his head sadly. 'It are dark times in which we live, if families are to be parted forever. Let's find a room for the small one.'

Erestor looked down and saw that Vanlach was already asleep. 'A good idea. But I want him to eat something first. It looks like he hasn't eaten for days! And I want to know what happened. Perhaps we could sent out some patrols.'

'We shall certainly do that. I shall go to Elrond and inform him about our guest, if he can hear me through the doors. Do you seek a room for Vanlach?'

'I shall. Good luck with Elrond.'

'I shall need that.'

At that point a servant rushed in. 'My lords, The twins have arrived!'

…

**Chapter 4 is finished! I'm sorry I didn't update for a very long time, I've been very busy recently. Anyway, please review! I shall make sure I update again in a week. **

**Thanks for all the reviews from chapter 3. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. **

**Legolas is 12/13 year. **

…

'Glorfindel! It's Elrohir, he needs help!' Elladan called as soon as he saw Glorfindel, in his arms he hold an unconscious Elrohir. 'He got hit over his head!'

'Give him to me, I shall bring him to the healing ward.' Glorfindel turned to Erestor, who had just walked in, 'Erestor, could you take care of Vanlach, I'll go with the twins.'

It didn't take long to bring the twins to the healing ward, a healer laid Elrohir in a bed and checked him. 'It's not dangerous my lords, when he wakes up he shall have a headache but nothing worse. How long has he been unconscious?'

Elladan sighed, 'We were close to home when we found the orcs and attacked them, we thought we had finished them all but we were wrong, one had hidden himself and sneaked on Elrohir. The orc knocked him unconscious and I killed the orc with my bow. I called my horse and managed to get Elrohir on it. We have ridden for a few hours before we were home.'

The healer nodded. 'Your twin will be all right, he could wake every moment. Shall I inform lord Elrond?'

The healer walked out the room, leaving Glorfindel and Elladan alone. The door had barely closed when Glorfindel started. 'What were you _thinking_? Are you completely insane? Sneaking off in the night, again! Haven't I offered to go with you? Why are you so irresponsible? Can't you see this can kill you? Do you think this is some sort of _game_? You acted again like a child! Why do you never listen? You-'

Elladan had always possessed the famous temper of his ancestors and itshowed right that moment; 'DO YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW! DO YOU THINK I CARE? THEY TOOK MY MOTHER! THEY FORCED HER TO LEAVE! THEY HAVE TO DIE!'

That was all Glorfindel could take, he was not going to argue with a mere elfling. 'Fine. GO! Kill as many orcs as you want and then kill yourself and your father! Go! What are you waiting for? You don't care if you, your twin or your father gets killed!'

'Father does not hunt, father can't get killed.' It was a mere whisper that came from Elladans' mouth.

'What will happen to your father if you or your brother leave this lands? He will not survive that. Stop the hunt Elladan, the creatures that hurt your mother are already dead, these are new orcs.'

It was quiet in the healing ward for a moment, then Elladan asked. 'Where is Erestor?'

'He is with Vanlach.'

Elladan raised his brows 'Who is Vanlach?'

Glorfindel shrugged, 'I don't know, you shall have to ask Erestor. He found the elfling.'

'He _found_ him? Vanlach is not from Imladris?'

'I don't know. I suppose he is Noldor, his hair is as black as the night, so it is possible his parents were from Imladris or Lothlorien. We have never seen him before.' It was all that Glorfindel said about this Vanlach, he soon changed subject. 'Why don't you take a bath and refresh yourself, I shall look over Elrohir.'

Elladan hesitated for a second before he nodded and left. He wandered through the hallways, letting his feet lead him.

when he walked by a guestroom close to his own room, he heard something. It sounded like someone was crying. Elladan opened the door and saw a person on the bed, his dark hair covering almost his whole face and his shoulders shocked with sobs. 'Hush, what's wrong?'

The small elfling didn't react when Elladan hugged him 'Shhh, small one, what's wrong?'

It took some time before the elfling calmed down and tried to break free from the hug, his sobs died down and no more tears were falling down his cheek. 'I- I'm sorry, Díheno nin. I didn't want to disturb anyone. Ni Vanlach.' /_I'm Vanlach_/

'Don't apologise for your grief. It is better to let it all out then to crop it up inside. You must be Vanlach. I'm Elladan Elrondion.'

'My lord! I'm sorry! I didn't recognise you!' Vanlach jumped from his bed and bowed to the astonished Elladan. No one had ever bowed to him, all the elves knew he was their lord's son and treated him with respect (if he didn't pull off a prank of course), it wasn't necessary for any of them to show their respect by bowing to him. 'Why do you bow? We are equals, you are a guest of my father's household. Call me Elladan and I shall call you Vanlach.'

'If that's what you wish, I shall do so, my l- Elladan.'

…

Angasicil was outraged, he and his men had searched for Legolas for over a week and still hadn't found a sign. He thought back of their 'unexpected' ambush, everything was planned so well, so why had his men managed to screw it so badly.

_He and the prince were running, Angasicil could sense the men, before and behind them. Soon they would be attacked from both sides, and they would have no escape. He grinned to himself when the other men appeared and he cried; 'An ambush, my prince, turn back!'_

_Then those humans attacked, but instead of focussing on the prince, they started to fight with him! He didn't regret killing a few of those fools but he had no time for this. He draw back his cloak, revealing himself. A cheer rose from the men, and they turned around, searching for the elfling once more. _

_He wasn't there! He heard Basson scream 'Where is 'e? Where is the boy?' _

_Others immediately started to look around, yelling 'He is not here anymore!'_

_Angasicil didn't hesitate. 'Find him then, you fools! I will personally kill you if he escapes!'_

_The men spread out but didn't find him. Angasicil cursed, they had trained this elfling way to good! It was already dark when he and his men found two of their scouts, two arrows where deeply imbedded in their chests, a quick and painless death. _

_He could see where the elfling had hid himself, but it seemed the prince had ran across some rocks along the way, effectively hiding his trail. His eyes saw a forest, and he spit out a curse. The prince was a wood elf, if he didn't want to be found in the woods, he wouldn't. _

Basson walked towards him, he still limped slightly from the punishment Angasicil had dealt out. 'My lord, what are we gonna do? Surely the child will starve in the forest, no need to worry about that one anymore!'

'Shut your mouth. As long as I'm paying you, you're obeying me. Have you found a body? No! Are you gonna find a body? No! The prince is a wood elf, for Valar's sake! Of course he will not starve. He has learned how to survive in a forest before he even could walk!'

'But we've waited for days! We-'

'Shut up! You are not irreplaceable! Don't forget that Basson! As long as I hire you, you do as I ask.'

Basson bowed slightly before he returned to the camp, leaving Angasicil to his musings.

…

Legolas had heard it for a while now, the whispers of the trees in Imladris. He hadn't had time yet to greet and communicate with them, and decided that now was the right moment to do so. He was just walking out of his door when he bumped into Elladan. By the time he stood again, Elladan was already at the end of the hall, calling 'Goheno nin' /_forgive me_/ but not waiting for any response from him.

He continued to the gardens and heard the rejoiced song of the trees, it seemed they had missed the presence of the woodelves. Their song spoke of the noldor elves who walked past and listened to them, but never fully understood them nor communicated with them.

It seemed that the trees recognised Legolas immediately, hearing only the song of his feä. A moment later the song slowly transformed in one of sadness, and somehow the mourning of the trees for the queen soothed Legolas and he was slowly drawn into sleep.

It was dark when he woke up with a start. His breath was fast and ragged, as if he had ran for miles. Slowly he remembered where he was and relaxed again. He ran his hands through his hair, they were shaking a little. The grief which was following everywhere crashed upon him once more and he started to sob uncontrollably. It hurt, it seemed as if his whole spirit was drowning in the darkness of his own grief. Somewhere he heard people call something. 'Vanlach! Vanlach! Ci man sad? Vanlach!'/_Where are you?_/

It took him some time to realise they were searching for him. He was not yet used to that name. he quickly jumped in the tree, trying to hide. He just wanted to be alone, and he wanted to go home. He cried again when he thought of his father and the palace. How his father's eyes shone with happiness, when he saw their people merrymaking or how his father's face turned serious when he had done something wrong. _Could it be that he was angry? That he sent me away?_

He resolutely rejected that thought but a little doubt stayed in his mind. Even though he was hidden quiet well, he was no problem for the keen eyes of Glorfindel, who saw him sitting by the tree. 'Vanlach! Come down.'

Legolas flinched a little at the tone, if it was his father who had said this, he would have dreaded what would come next. He had, however, no choice, so he walked slowly to the blonde elf. 'Vanlach! We've been looking for you. Why where you not inside? It's dark already.'

'I was merely talking to the trees, I didn't mean to be trouble. Díheno nin, hir nin.' /_forgive me_/

'Talking to the trees? I thought only woodelves do that?'

Legolas' cheeks became red, _stupid! _He stammered something, and started over again. 'M- My father thought me how.'

It was not even a real lie, his father had once told him how to hear the song of the trees but he had never really needed it. Even for a woodelf he could communicate with the trees very well, to the annoyance of his tutors when he tried to hide.

Glorfindel only looked Vanlach in his eyes and realised immediately something odd. Instead of the grey eyes one could suspect by a noldor elf, Vanlach had bright blue eyes, looking even bigger in his pale face. _ I have to keep an eye on him, he is not what he seems._ 'Please come inside, I do not know how your father does it but here in Imladris we have a rule: Not outside when it is dark.'

Legolas held his head a little higher. 'You are outside.'

Glorfindel's eyes warned Vanlach not to continue. 'I'm an adult.'

It was the wrong thing to say. 'I'm no child! I want to stay outside.'

'Go inside.' His voice was dangerously soft.

'NO! You cannot make me.'

Glorfindel's hand shoot out and grabbed Legolas' wrist, bringing the elfling close to his face. 'Don't think I can't. Now. Get. Inside.'

Legolas obeyed, head hung down. When he went through the doors he heard Glorfindel's voice. 'You are hiding something. I intend to find out what it is. I shall watch you.'

With that in his mind Legolas turned around, and walked in the last homely home.

…

**This week is way too busy but I've managed to write this chapter… I hope you all liked it and don't forget to review!**

**Thanks for your review MDarKspIrIt!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**

**Legolas is 12/13 year. (50/55 year) **

**A/N: I believe that the raising in Imladris and Mirkwood are very different. Imladris is a haven of peace, while Mirkwood is constant in battle with the shadow. I therefore believe that Legolas has learned how to fight way earlier then Elladan and Elrohir. In Imladris they start (in my fic) after they come of ages (50 year) but in Mirkwood they start as soon as the child can walk and does not accidently hurt someone. ( 20 year) If a child in Mirkwood comes of ages, (50 years) he or she is seen as an adult, they do not yet join patrols, because their body is not yet fully grown, but they have duties as adults, only a little less than the real warriors because they still get some time to play, this time is mostly used to train with the weapons, however.**

**On with the story:**

…

'Erestor, can I speak to you for a moment?' Erestor turned around slowly, not really believing his ears for the voice that said those words belonged to none other than the Lord Elrond himself. His ears were not deceiving him, in the door opening stood Elrond. The lord's hair hung limply around his head, without any braids. His face seemed lined by grief and his eyes dull and empty. It gave the impression as if he hadn't cared for himself in the last days, which was probably true.

'Elrond! Come in. Please have a seat, my friend.' Erestor quickly stood up and swept some papers from a chair. 'Thank you, old friend.'

It was quiet for a moment, neither of them knew what to say. Erestor had time to study Elrond closely. 'Sorry for saying it but you look terrible. Shall I ask for a meal?'

He gave Elrond no chance to say anything. He summoned a servant and soon a light lunch stood before them. He handed Elrond a bit of bread. 'Eat.'

Elrond obeyed without protest, what worried Erestor. He started to speak again when Elrond said; 'What's happening to me Erestor? I feel as if all my strength is leaving me, as if every step I set is one too much. As if my will to live is gone.'

Erestor bowed his head. 'Then it is as we feared, my lord. I shall not lie to you but please hear me out! There is hope yet. Think about your sons and your daughter, they still need you. Do not give in to grief so quickly for there is still light.'

For a moment their eyes met, Elrond's spoke of lost hope and of deep grief, Erestor's eyes spoke of Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen, of hope yet undiscovered. Then Elrond sighed, and let his eyes drift over the room, seeing something he had not thought possible.

The library was a complete mess. He remembered Erestor's everlasting battle for neatness and a 'good ordered' library. He remembered keenly a day a few years ago, when Erestor had stormed out the library and ran to the training fields. He had grabbed Glorfindel by the ears, in front of a pair very amused twins, and dragged the balrog slayer all the way to the library, because Glorfindel had not placed a book back, after reading it, on the place where he took it. 'Erestor! What happened to the library?'

Erestor sighed, 'The result of running this place alongside Glorfindel, I'm afraid. I bet he couldn't even grind out the alphabet, how he has ever come to writing is a riddle for me.'

Elrond seemed lost in thoughts for a moment, he looked out the window and didn't seem to have heard anything that Erestor had said. Slowly he turned his eyes on his friend. 'I thank you, and Glorfindel of course, for the things you have done. I had forgotten this realm, I even forgot my own children, by the stars! But you are right. I am not yet ready to depart this lands, and neither are my children. Please, tell me what has happened in my… absence.'

And Erestor did, gladly, but before he told about the realm he showed Elrond the letter from Thranduil that Imladris had received, now three weeks ago. 'Not only Imladris grieves, my lord. The king has to raise is son on his own now, just as you.'

A moment later the door swung open, revealing Vanlach running to Erestor. 'My lord! The twins asked me to train. Do you know where they laid my bow and knives? I wish to use them.'

Erestor smiled as he laid his hand on Vanlach's shoulder. He had not seen the boy so happy since he arrived. Training would be a good thing indeed, it would distract Vanlach's mind and he was sure the twins would show the elfling how to spar. They had started their warrior training almost thirty years ago and where good pupils. He was sure it would be very useful for Vanlach. 'They laid your knives at your desks, with your bow. Your quiver is at the armoury, they saw you had your quiver only half full. But stay still for a moment, and greet the lord of Imladris.'

Vanlach's blue eyes grew wide when he saw who was with Erestor. He moved his hand to his heart and bowed, in a formal greeting. _'_Le suilon, Hîr Elrond.'/_I greet you, Lord Elrond_/

Elrond was slightly perplexed at the elfling's knowledge of formal greetings. 'Ni veren an le ngovaned. I mar nîn i mar gîn'/_I'm happy to meet you. My home is your home._/

The elfling bowed once more and ran out the room. Elrond raised his eyebrow. 'Who is that elfling?'

'Shall we go to the training fields too, my lord? I would like to see them all train and I haven't been outside for long. I shall explain everything on our way.'

…

Meanwhile, Legolas was walking with the twins, listening to stories of their latest hunt. 'I swear it, Vanlach! The orc I killed was at least 2 metre high! But I wasn't afraid. With one swing of my sword I decapitated it!'

Elladan snickered and continued the tale. 'Yes. He did but a few moments later he himself fell on the ground. He had thought that all the orcs were dead, and one definitely wasn't.'

Glorfindel shot a quick look behind him. 'I don't see the humour in getting injured in a fight.'

The twins looked slightly embarrassed, but not for long. 'Anyway, when you're older, maybe you could join us. Then we can count the number of orcs we slaughter.'

Legolas raised his eyebrows, 'I already have killed orcs, although not as many as you so you don't have to wait for me growing up. I, however, shall have to decline your offer, I won't bring myself in needless danger. I only killed and I only shall kill orcs when they are a threat to my life, my home or other lives and homes.'

He moved past them and started to ask questions about the training to Glorfindel. Elladan stared wordlessly at his twin, before finding word again. 'Do you believe it?'

Elrohir shook his head. 'No, do you remember us as small elflings? We claimed we had slain a balrog and the witch king himself! We shall show Vanlach the meaning of a real fight on the training fields, let's have a look how good he really is with that bow of his.'

The four arrived at the fields a few minutes later. Legolas looked around and couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, where were all the warriors, sparring as if their very lives depended on it. Where were the tutors, training the pupils how to shoot. The few elves that were there seemed not to take the training serious, not one command was heard, not one was being scolded for some foolish or brash action. He could see a few of the targets but he didn't waste his time. The targets were unmoving and in the open, how could you ever train like that! He remembered the lessons he had had with his bow, how the targets seemed to appear out of the woods and how they would swing towards you, and hit you in the face if you didn't 'kill' it. It did not seem fair to call this field a training place. Glorfindel demanded his attention when he began to speak. 'Vanlach, you should watch and listen. Look at the twins and how they spar. Maybe they can show you later how to shoot properly?'

Legolas bowed his head, to hide his anger. What did they think, he was no elfling anymore. He was already of age, in his own realm he was counted as an good warrior and an adult. His duties as a prince were fully upon his shoulders and although he couldn't join any patrols for the coming twenty years, he was still counted a good warrior. The last years were purely for his body and his strength to develop, not for his fighting skills.

He detected some movement behind him and spun around. Erestor and Lord Elrond walked calmly to the training fields. In his mind he remembered what his father had once said about Lord Elrond. _Lord Elrond is a mighty elf. Son, do __never__ tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. You are of age now so I trust you to keep the deeply guarded secret. Elrond wears one of the three. Vilya, the ring of Air. Some say he can control the Bruinen with this ring, and I believe them. For I have once seen it, a beautiful but terrifying thing it was. But, son, do not forget this; it was him and the high king Gil-Galad who convinced King Oropher to fight side-by-side with the humans, what led to the loss of almost two-third of our people, and all for nothing. Because a men betrayed us that battle. Isildur took the ring and the dark lord is rising again._

Legolas wondered if he should ask Elrond anything about the war or the high king, his father and the warriors never spoke of that great battle, for the heartache was even now to near for them. But he wanted to know. What was it like to command your armies and fight for the freedom of middle earth, what were honourable men like? His father said there weren't honourable men but he didn't believe that. The only problem was, in his eyes, that there were to _less_ honourable men and to _many_ dishonourable.

'Young Vanlach, I see you also brought your weapons with you, please, would you mind using them or do you decide to stay staring to the trees?' Glorfindel's voice boomed through his thoughts. He blushed a bit and then unsheathed his knives.

'Do you not want to use a sword, penneth?' Elladan asked, drawing his own sword.

'I prefer knives over the sword.'

Both started to circle around each other and soon they started to test each other's strength. Elladan moved his sword to Legolas right side, hesitating. It was clear he was afraid of hurting the elfling. He didn't have to worry though. Legolas paired the blow easily and quickly moved to Elladan's left. He attacked with unsuspected skills and Elladan barely managed to parry the thrusts. When he wanted to attack he noticed that Vanlach was no longer on his left. Spinning around his sword clashed with Vanlach's knives, the blow was so strong he felt it in his whole arm. He let go of his sword, that landed on the ground.

A shocked silence followed. All the imladris elves looked stunned at Vanlach. Elladan felt heat rushing to his cheeks. He was defeated by a mere elfling, one that was no higher than his chin! He whirled around and retrieved his sword. 'Pure luck, elfling. I bet you cannot outshoot me or Elrohir with the bow.'

With that he walked to the targets, Elrohir moving behind him. He was sure the elfling had had some luck. He and Elrohir were already training 30 years and they wouldn't be defeated by a elfling, who had barely begun his training, or so Elladan thought. He was very surprised when he heard the elfling cry out: 'No Rivendell elf outshoots a Mirkwood elf!'

Glorfindel stepped in before it could turn out in an argument. 'A match! Choose a target and shoot. If your competitor hits it too, than he can choose one. We go on until only one is left.'

And so it started. Elrohir was first. He shoot a target, 50 metres ahead. His arrow came in the inner ring, close to the bulls eye. Elladan shoot it to, his arrow coming close to Elrohir's. Vanlach's arrow landed in the outer ring, making Elladan smile. Legolas saw his smile but didn't comment on it. _Lull your opponent in a false sense of security, and if they expect it the least, attack!_

The game went on for a while. Elladan's and Elrohir's confidence grew with each passing target. They started to pick harder targets while Vanlach seemed to pick the easiest. His arrows always hit the outer ring, as if he couldn't come close to the middle.

Their shock was great when Vanlach suddenly pointed a very difficult target. It hung in a tree almost 150 metres away and it was very hard to hit because it was very small and a few branches before the target made it even harder. The targets belonged to the advanced shooting classes, those who could really shoot and often were in a tournament. Elladan tried it first, his arrow landed in one of the branches, missing the target with at least a metre. Next came Elrohir, his arrow flew over the tree, landing behind it. Vanlach's turn. The twins turned around with grins on their faces. They were sure that Vanlach was just bluffing. He had probably hoped that the twins would back off and he would be declared a winner. No he would have to shoot. Almost faster than the eye could follow Vanlach grabbed an arrow out his quiver, aimed it and fired. Breathless they watched how it made their way to the tree and hit the target perfectly in the middle.

Vanlach walked to the tree, jumped in and retrieved his arrow. 'game over.'

It took a time for another reacted but then Elladan started to laugh and Elrohir soon joined in. 'We have greatly underestimated you, I'm afraid. You could have hit all the targets in the bull's eye if you wanted it, am I right?'

Elrohir decided that it was now time for something else. 'Yes, you absolutely have to tell us where and how you have learned to fight so well. But let's go back, I'm hungry!'

'Hah! Gwador nîn, you are always hungry! Let's go home then, before Elrohir starves!'

Erestor moved to Vanlach, to congratulate him on his shooting, leaving Elrond and Glorfindel alone. Elrond sighed. 'Vanlach is a strange elfling.'

Glorfindel nodded. 'He is. It seems that he is from Mirkwood, but he looks like an elf from Imladris or Lothlorien. Except for his eyes.'

'Aye, except for his eyes. They remind me of Mirilya's' Elrond nodded to Glorfindel and followed his sons to the house, leaving Glorfindel to think of the eyes of Mirilya, the queen of Mirkwood. The elfling truly had her eyes. _But why? Why would Prince Legolas hide here and why would he not trust Lord Elrond? _Still deep in thoughts Glorfindel followed Elrond to the house.

…

**It is gonna be very busy, over a week it is test week so I probably don't have time to update. But after that week the holidays start! In the holidays I am away for three weeks so I can post one chapter the week after the testweek and maybe one in the testweek. After that I go away, so than I won't update for three weeks. Please leave a review if you have any tips, critique or just want to tell me what you thought about this chapter!**

**Thanks for your reviews MDarKspIrIt and Issy, hope you both enjoyed this chapter too! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**

**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**

…

'Vanlach, run! He is almost upon us!' Legolas and the twins were running for their lives. All three the elflings looked terrified. If their pursuer gets them, there would be terrible consequences. But it was very hard to hide from him, his senses were sharped from millennia of experience and training. The trees passed as a blurry green while Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir desperately ran away. It was then that Legolas thought about a technique he had learned from the warriors. 'To the trees!'

The twins looked confused for a moment but when they saw Vanlach jumping up a tree and continuing his way through the branches, moving much faster than on the ground, they followed him. Vanlach was very much at home in the trees, sometimes he ran over the braches and sometimes he made his way with only his hands, like a monkey would do.

Their race continued for a long time and after quit a distance the elflings stopped in a clearing. 'I think we lost him.'

The three continued to scan the trees warily but didn't found a sign of danger and they relaxed. 'That was close.' Elrohir said

'Way to close, but how are we going to return home now?' Elladan agreed.

A voice answered his question 'I think I know of a way.'

The three jumped at the soft noise, they had ran straight into the arms of the pursuer! With dread in their hearts they turned around, knowing there was no way out now. Without warning the blond haired attacker leaped to Vanlach and pinned him in one fluid motion to a tree nearby. Elladan gasped out. 'Glorfindel! Please! We are truly sorry! We didn't know…'

Glorfindel ignored him and turned around, dragging a struggling Vanlach with him. The twins decided to follow him, they could have tried to run but they didn't want to let Vanlach face the punishment alone. Elladan mused about their situation, how could it have gone this bad?

_Elladan and Elrohir were whispering to each other when Vanlach entered the hall of fire. 'What are you talking about?'_

_Ever since that training, two weeks ago, the twins and Vanlach had become very good friends. Elrohir was rubbing a small bump on his forehead. 'It's that cook! I was just wandering around in the kitchen, doing nothing wrong. I saw a few delicious apple pies close by and decided to take a look and move them to a more… secure place. We wouldn't want them to be stolen, after all. The cook saw me, walking with the pies and he started to scream and swear! Then he hit me with his wooden spoon! I was doing nothing wrong. It was absolutely unnecessary.' _

_Elladan nodded viciously. 'It was! We have to take revenge!'_

And they tried. The perfect idea had come from Vanlach, they would make a mixture of rotten eggs and water. It would have been the perfect revenge!

_The three elflings were hidden behind a curtain, waiting eagerly for their prank to work. They heard someone swear and high fived each other. They muffled their laughter but to no avail. The curtain was ripped away and they were faced with the elf that had been caught in their prank. _

_Their smiles changed quickly when they saw it was Erestor and not the cook, completely covered in the substance. But to their horror two other elves stood behind him. Elrond and Glorfindel, both wearing outraged expressions took a step forward. The elflings turned around and ducked beneath the grabbing arms of the elf-lords. _

Elladan dared to take a look at Glorfindel's face, he was still outraged. They walked silently behind him. He led them directly to Elrond's study. The lord and Erestor were already there. They had used the time to change in new clothes although Elrohir could still smell a bit of rotten eggs. 'Glorfindel, that was quick, my friend. We have some fresh clothes for you in your room.'

Glorfindel bowed and turned around, now intend on getting clean. Elrond spoke again after a long silence. 'So, who's idea was this?'

At once the twins pointed at Vanlach, while Vanlach pointed at Elrohir. Elrond's gaze shifted to the small elfling. 'Was it your idea, Vanlach?'

'No, my lord!'

Elladan interrupted him. 'Yes it was! He said we could mix rotten eggs and water!'

Vanlach leaped to his feet. 'But you and Elrohir said that we should take revenge at the cook!'

Elrond raised his hands. 'Enough! All of you. You all participated so you are all guilty. But what to do with you?'

Glorfindel, who had joined them again, said, 'My lord, you should decide the twins punishment, and I shall have a little chat with Vanlach.'

Elrond looked slightly surprised but nodded nonetheless. Glorfindel laid a hand on Vanlach's shoulders and turned him around. 'Erestor, can we use the library?'

Legolas and Glorfindel were both quiet while they walked. Legolas was wondering why Glorfindel wanted to talk and Glorfindel was wondering how he could make Vanlach tell the truth. They walked the library in and Glorfindel waved to a chair. 'Sit down, I have to find something. We shall talk in a few moments.'

Legolas watched Glorfindel while he searched the bookcases. It seemed he had found the book he needed and he climbed one of the many ladders to reach it. It was a big leather bonded book. Glorfindel laid the book carefully at the desk. So, Vanlach.'

'Lord Glorfindel.'

A painful silence followed, Legolas didn't dare to look Glorfindel in the eye and Glorfindel was leafing through the book. 'Was it your idea?'

'What, my lord?'

Glorfindel lifted his gaze from the book to study Vanlach. After a few moments Vanlach started to shift restless in his chair, feeling as if Glorfindel's gaze could pierce his soul. Without moving his gaze Glorfindel continued. 'It was a good idea. The twins have never done such a prank.'

Vanlach mumbled something, too soft for Glorfindel to hear. 'You seemed to know what you were doing. Have you done it before?'

'Maybe, my lord.'

And then, to Legolas' surprise, the Balrog slayer started to laugh. Legolas relaxed a little, maybe Glorfindel was not very angry. Glorfindel noticed this immediately. _Almost there._

'I'm sure you must have plenty of experiences and, to be honest, I need some help.'

Legolas was still hesitating, not sure what to think of this new development. 'Help, my lord?'

'Aye, the twins have pranked me often enough, tell me Vanlach, have you ever had green hair?'

A smile formed on Vanlach's lips. 'No, my lord. Did the twins do that?'

'My lips are sealed, but, you see, I need some help, someone with experience. Please tell me, where and when did you invent that prank?'

Vanlach's eyes sparkled. _I have him. _'It was a time ago! I was bored, I had already finished my work and my father was busy. My father is always busy and his advisors are always keeping him at work so I decided to trick one. It took a time to get the ingredients, because a few guardians were watching the hallway. I managed to sneak past them and I reached the kitchen. After I had all the ingredients I started to mix them, until I had the perfect compilation. I made the trap by the throne room and waited.'

The elfling had fallen silent again but he needed little urging from Glorfindel to pick up his story. 'And? Did it work?'

'Yes! Only not the way I wanted it to work. The advisors were covered completely but I hadn't seen my father! Ada was mad… The advisors said later to me that they had never seen the king so angry. Ada took me directly to his study and I had to clean it all and I…' Vanlach blanched as he realised what he had said.

This was the opening that Glorfindel was waiting for. 'You are not the son of Angasicil, are you?'

Legolas looked to his feet. _Stupid! How could I be such an idiot!_

'I've wondered a long time about you, elfling. Where had you learned to shoot and fight so well? Why were you taught better than most elflings? How is it that your hair is black and your eyes blue? Why do your eyes look like those of the queen of Mirkwood? It took me a time to figure out, but I guess it was worth it. So, what _are_ you doing here, _Prince Legolas_?'

The door of the study opened. A maiden watched the two elves. 'I didn't want to interrupt you, my lord. But the lord Elrond asked for you.'

Glorfindel stood up, 'We are not done yet, _Vanlach_. I will speak to you soon.'

Legolas stayed in the library for a moment. He listened to the voices outside, a little grateful that Glorfindel had not betrayed him. Y_et. Stupid idiot that I am! Never speak fully when you yourself are not fully truthful. _He scolded himself harshly for letting his guard down. _I have to tell them, and beg them not to betray me. When Glorfindel comes back I shall tell everything._

The voices of the twins drifted to him through the open window. 'We should go again.'

Without making a noise Legolas peeked out the window. A bit further he saw the twins, sitting under a tree. _Why use the door?_ He took a few steps away from the window, turned around and jumped through it, in a tree. He landed without problems and it did not take long before he was directly above the twins. They had already seen him and motioned to join them. 'Vanlach! What do you have to do? I and 'Ro have to help in the kitchen _for a whole month_!

'It is not yet decided.' Legolas answered 'What were you talking about?'

'I and 'Dan want to go hunting again. Care to join us?'

'Hunting? Like hunting for food?'

The twins simultaneously shook their head. Elladan look around very carefully before speaking in a hushed tone 'No, hunting, like killing every vile creature that dares to walk in our way.'

Legolas shook his head and replied, quiet loudly. 'You mean slaughtering orcs? I've already told you; I won't join you with that kind of hunt. It is wrong.'

'It is not wrong to avenge your mother's suffering.'

'It is wrong to slaughter creatures merciless, lowering yourself to their level.'

'how DARE you! You know nothing! It was not your mother that suffered! It is not your mother that has gone away! You little filth!' Elladan and Elrohir had leaped up and stood threatening over Vanlach. They had no idea how much their words hurt him.

'I know nothing! My mother was killed! Murdered before my own eyes! Have you ever been in so much pain you couldn't help your own mother! Have you ever heard the order to kill and you could not prevent it! Have you ever been completely defenceless, at the mercy of monsters! Have you ever been left behind to _die_! You. Know. NOTHING!' Legolas turned around and ran away, not even hearing when the twins called his name and followed him. His vision was blurred with tears but he cared not.

Legolas sprung in the trees when he reached the forest at the borders of Imladris, he had not known how far he had ran but he didn't turn around. Slightly behind the twins pursued him. 'Vanlach! Please, we are sorry! Vanlach!'

The three ran for a very long time. When Vanlach finally stopped it was dark and they were deep in the forest and far away from Imladris. 'Where are we?'

'We've been here before, but that was long ago.' Elladan looked around carefully. 'We should go home.'

Legolas nodded. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have ran off like this, you couldn't know.'

Elrohir shook his head. 'Nay, this is our fault, we should have been more careful with our words. Please, accept our apology.'

'You are forgiven. And please forgive me for running away.'

Elladan and Elrohir smiled at the same time, their eyes speaking for them. _There is nothing to forgive. _ 'Let's go back.'

Legolas suddenly stiffened. 'In the trees!'

The twins did not question him, and the three would have gotten away, was it not for one elf. 'Basson. They are in the trees, fire until they fall.'

With those words the elf jumped in a tree, close to Legolas' own. His eyes spied to woodelf and a second later he had joined Legolas in the tree. Legolas ran over the branch, moving to another tree and trying to escape. The men were focussing on the trees where Elladan and Elrohir were in and started to shoot arrows.

Legolas' flight was short. Angasicil was one of the only that could out climb him and Legolas was no match. He grabbed the elfling's tunic and pulled back, making Legolas fall of the tree. He jumped on the elfling, pinning his arm and legs.

Elladan and Elrohir did not fare better. They had managed to avoid the first arrows but they were tiring very quickly. Elrohir jumped out the way of an arrow, just in time, but he didn't land well. His foot slipped and he fell down. Without waiting the men grabbed him and pinned him to the tree, while their leader called. 'Come down or let this one die!'

Elladan knew he was defeated and jumped out the tree, he too was quickly overwhelmed. The men were bounding their hands when the elf and Legolas arrived. Legolas limped slightly from his fall of the tree and had a few cuts but appeared otherwise fine. His hands were already bound behind his back. 'Vanlach, Ci vaer?' /_are you well?_/

Angasicil looked down at the elfling. 'They think your name is Vanlach? I am impressed, you managed to fool the lord of Imladris and his sons? How did you do that?'

Legolas held his head high when he responded. 'I do not anwer to a traitor!'

The comment earned him a cuff over the head. 'You may be the prince in Mirkwood, but here you are no more than a prisoner. Basson, I want a bucket of water.'

The man hurried to do as Angasicil said. When he was back Angasicil took the bucket. 'It is time to stop this act.' With those words he dumped the water all over Legolas. The twins eyes grew wide when Legolas' hair regain its former blonde colour. 'For those did not know it, may I present: Legolas Greenleaf Thranduilion, Crown prince of Mirkwood.'

Angasicil watched how the twins' faces changed in surprise and understanding. 'We have some unfinished business to deal with, but not here. Blindfold them, we make for the mountains!'

Elladan, Elrohir and Legolas could do nothing when the men blindfolded them, one man shoved Elladan. 'That way. Walk elf!'

Legolas walked between Elladan and Elrohir, they could feel him shaking. Elrohir whispered reassuringly 'It is going to be alright. Ada or Glorfindel or Erestor will find us.'

That was all they could say and not one of them really believed the words. They walked onwards, afraid for the next day.

…

**I managed to write a chapter! Phew, it is really busy but I've written this between all the tests.**

_**Issy **_**and **_**Leoluin,**_** Thank you very much for your reviews! I hope I updated soon enough :).**

**Anyway, please leave a review for this chapter! Please? **


	8. Chapter 8

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**

**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**

…

Angasicil smiled when he saw Legolas shiver, still wet from the water. His blonde locks were dripping and he seemed very vulnerable. He tapped absently minded with his belt against his thighs. His gaze darkened when it shifted to the sons of Elrond. They had been an accident. If he killed them, he would have two elven lords searching for him, but if he let them free, they would tell lord Elrond about him and about the prince. He had to get rid of them, somehow, without killing them but making sure they would never again contact the elf-lord.

He saw the elflings huddling together, while walking. They were comforting each other and it angered him. 'Basson, we stop here for a brief rest.'

His orders were followed without question and soon the men had settled down. He walked without sound to the three elflings. 'Cold, Your highness?'

Legolas ignored him completely. 'Look at me when I'm talking to you!'

This time Legolas turned his head towards him, saying. 'How can I look at you, while you have me blindfolded? And even if I weren't: I do not feel the desire to look upon a traitor's face.'

Angasicil saw the twins stiffen at Legolas' comment. He looked at the elfling and saw the tensing of his body, clearly expecting a blow. Without making a noise he positioned himself behind Legolas, knowing that the prince would not suspect a blow from that direction. He grabbed the belt he had been holding and lifted his arm. The belt hit Legolas hard and the young prince flinched unconsciously.

Legolas braced himself when the belt hit him again. He tried to hold himself as still as possible, not wanting to show his pain. The belt fell a third time and a fourth, soon he lost count. The pain was starting to overwhelm him. _Do not make a sound, do not make a sound, do not.._ He did not know how long it went on, but he was starting to get dizzy from the pain. _Do not make a sound, do not make a sound, do not_… He moaned softly and cursed himself immediately for it. _Do not make a sound! Do not.._

'Had enough, little Prince?' He heard Angasicil say. The beating stopped and he couldn't suppress the sigh of relief that escaped from his lips. 'Not so brave now, are we? Believe me, it is going to get much worse. You will beg for your death before I'm finished with you. I made a mistake in leaving these men alone with you and your mother, it will not happen again. I promise.'

Legolas couldn't help but shudder on these words, and tried to accept the undeniable truth. He would not live for much longer. He would die, probably in pain. He would never see his father again. Legolas tried to supress a sob. Ai! How his father would grief! And his friends, Elladan and Elrohir. What would become of them? Would they be killed too? He did not even hear Angasicil's fading footsteps.

Elladan leaned to the elfling, or rather, to where he thought the elfling was. 'Legolas? What happened? I thought I heard…'

Legolas interrupted him 'Avo drasto, Im maer.' /_Don't worry, I'm fine_/

They heard the men coming for them again, and they were roughly dragged up. Angasicil said, above the murmurs of the humans. 'Give the prince to me. We will walk in the front, take the others to the rear.'

This statement was met with resistance from the elflings, and when the men tried to separate them they clung to each other. It took two men to overwhelm Legolas for he struggled as mad. Angasicil sneered at the humans. 'Can't even overwhelm a bounded blindfolded boy! We do not have the whole day, hurry up!'

They started walking again, like they had done all day. Their blindfolds became increasingly annoying, they had no idea where they were going and they had no idea what was happening around them. It seemed that the men were enjoying their blindness and they shoved the elflings often, trying to get them to stumble. After being shoved against someone _again_, Elladan pushed back. He heard the man stumble and supressed a smirk, until he heard who he had pushed. 'Elladan, Daro! It is I, Elrohir.' /_stop!_/

'Ro! I'm sorry, I thought you were one of them.' Elladan whispered back, feeling guilty.

'Never mind. Do you know what just happened?'

'The humans pushed me. Again.'

'Not then! While we were resting, what happened with Van- Legolas?'

'It sounded like…'

'Iston, but that wouldn't be possible, would it?' /_I know_/

'A day ago we thought that Vanlach, I mean Legolas, was just an elfling from Mirkwood. I don't know what is possible and what's not.'

'An elf wouldn't hurt another elf, especially not an elfling'

'An elf wouldn't kidnap other elves, but still here we are: prisoners of an Elf.'

'So you think that elf actually _beat_ Legolas?'

'I don't know what to think.'

'But you think he is capable of doing it?'

'Maybe.'

'Elladan, why are you doing like this!'

'Like what?'

'Avoiding my questions, giving no straight answers!'

'Do you want a straight answer?'

'YES! I would like that very much.'

'Fine. I do not want to think about it.'

'What?'

'I do not want to think about this because… there is nothing we can do! Nothing! We are completely at the mercy of these humans. The same humans that killed the Queen of Mirkwood. Don't you see it? These humans, that elf, are going to kill Legolas, like they have killed the queen. How can I think about that? It does not matter what happened, it matters what is going to happen. I fear for him, I fear for us. Can you not understand me?' Elladan's voice had become louder during the talking, so loud that the humans could hear it, although they could not understand what was being said, with the twins talking elvish. One of them grabbed Elladan's shoulder and pushed him roughly to the ground. 'Shut up and walk!'

The twins were quiet for a moment, then Elrohir whispered, too soft for any human to hear. 'Goheno nin. You are right, for the most, but don't despair yet. We shall be found. Ada will not give up on us.' /_forgive me_/

'Gwador, If only I could be so optimistic!'

'I am not optimistic, I simply hold on to hope.'

'And with that you lighten my heart.'

…

Glorfindel re-entered the library, determined to get the answers he wanted. He was not really surprised to find Vanlach's chair empty. _I've been away for two hours at least. Now, where would an Elfling go to if he is bored._ He looked at the open window and the trees that stood beneath it. C_orrection, where would a woodelf go to when he is bored._

With a slight grin Glorfindel jumped out the window and landed in the trees, just like Legolas had done, a few hours before. He was slightly startled when he felt it's distress. He laid his hands on the bast. _I wish I was a woodelf! I do not understand what the tree want. Maybe Elrond knows.._

With those thoughts in mind he walked back to the house, not even noticing when he bumped into Erestor. 'Glorfindel, what are-'

Erestor followed the warrior through the house, worried about his lack of response. They walked straight to Elrond's study. Elrond looked surprised up, 'Glorfindel, what is wrong?'

'I do not know and I thought that maybe you knew. The trees are worried about something but I do not understand them. I was searching for Vanlach when I noted their discomfort.'

The three elves walked to the balcony and they could all feel it now. After a few second Elrond spoke. 'You are right, the trees are in great distress. I do not understand much more, we shall have to find a woodelf for that.'

They saw they were not the only ones who had noted the trees' distress. Elves seemed to leak out the houses and some were touching the trees. Elrond spoke to them all. 'Can anyone understand what the trees are trying to tell us?'

Lindir the minstrel said: 'I do not know why the trees are in distress but I do know something else; some trees are more distressed then others. How closer you come to our southern border, how un-easier the trees are.'

Elrond nodded. 'A good observation and we shall act upon it. Glorfindel, gather ten warrior, we leave in one hour and ride to the southern border.'

It did not take long to gather all the warriors and supplies, it seemed that all the elves wanted to go and they ended up with more than twenty warrior that were ready to travel and fight. Glorfindel shook his head, 'We shall travel with ten warriors, excluding me, Elrond and Erestor. Mahtar, you and your warriors travel with us. Palurin, you and your warriors are staying here but stay alert and be ready to aid us if we sent a messenger.'

With those words Glorfindel turned around and started to lead the warriors into the forest. His hands drifted to his sword, he was nervous, in all his years he had never felt such distress. Something must be terribly wrong to cause this. The warriors noticed that Lindir had been right. They had walked for a good amount of time when they suddenly seemed to reach the centre of the feelings. 'Search for tracks, anything that can help us to find out what happened here.'

All the warriors spread out.

'My lords! Look at these tracks, there has been a struggle.' Mahtar pointed to the ground and indeed, it seemed that someone had fallen out of the tree. Mahtar jumped into the tree and leaped down again. 'He must have been attacked, because he landed on only one leg. It would not surprise me if we see tracks from somebody limping.'

Glorfindel crouched low and studied the tracks. 'There are two tracks, one of someone limping and another pair, I guess from the attacker, let's see to where they lead.'

They followed the tracks and came to a very small clearing. 'We have found it! The tracks we followed were elven, but these tracks are human.'

Erestor pointed to a tree. 'Are those arrows?'

He stepped carefully towards the tree, making sure he was not making the tracks unreadable, when he touched the bast of the tree something strange happened. It seemed as if he suddenly understood the tree. _The prince of the woods! The prince of the woods!_ A cry sounded in his mind. He jerked his hands back, as if burned. 'Erestor! What's wrong?'

'The tree… it, I felt it.. The tree are crying out for the prince of the woods, but I do not understand. Who is the prince of the woods?'

Glorfindel let out a few colourful curses. 'Vanlach!'

Erestor seemed even more confused now, 'Vanlach?'

Glorfindel threw his hands in the air. 'How could I not have guessed it? Vanlach, I mean Legolas, is in danger!'

Elrond raised his eyebrows. 'Care to enlighten us?'

Glorfindel shrugged, 'I shall explain everything later. Vanlach is not the son of Angasicil. Angasicil has no son, Vanlach is Legolas, son of king Thranduil.'

'What! He is what? How do you know?'

Glorfindel sighed, 'We have no time, just trust me. We have to find out what happened here and rescue the prince.'

Mahtar joined the three. 'My lords, we know what has happened. There were two beings in the trees, hiding. Humans started to shoot arrows, and one of them fell out the tree. He was overwhelmed quickly, and the other came down too.'

'What direction did they leave?' Elrond asked.

'East, my lord. But we have also discovered something else.' He led the lords to a place very close to the tree, in the ground laid a dagger. The dagger was beautiful, of elven made, the flowing letters showed the text: _Elrohir Elrondion, Gwanunig Elladan. _

'Elrohir, son of Elrond, Twin of Elladan.' Elrond carefully grabbed the dagger and examined it closely, as if hoping it was somehow a fake. Rage flared up in him. 'Glorfindel, how many enemies?'

Glorfindel studied the tracks slowly. 'Around twelve humans, but there is also one elf.'

'Send a message to Imladris. Tell them we need five other warriors. They can follow our tracks.'

Elrond put the dagger away. In his eyes flared white hot rage. 'We are going to find the prince and my sons, and mark my words! I will kill them if they have hurt my sons! This I swear! Warriors, to the east!'

Cries of agreement were heard and the warriors followed their lord, anger burning in their hearts.

…

**I'm relieved this chapter is done. I was camping with a very irritating writer's block so I'm glad I managed to write this. I'm only not entirely sure about the dialogue.. between the twins, it seemed too long. Well, never mind. Something completely different: My holiday has just started, Yeah! Since I have more spare time I will try to update another chapter in the weekend. I would really appreciate reviews! *Hint* **

_**Issy, Leoluin **_**and**_** Kirala: **_**Thank you all very much for taking your time to leave a review! I'm happy that you all like the story so far and I hope you will like the rest of the story! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**

**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**

…

Legolas had no idea how long they had walked. He had tried to count his steps but to no avail, he had lost count around ten thousand steps. He was still blindfolded but he could still picture the landscape they were in. The ground had become harder so he assumed they were walking on rocky ground and towards the mountains. He could hear the men walking behind them, and sometimes he could hear one of the twins. He knew that Angasicil walked besides him although he could not hear him. The air around him was beginning to cool, so they were walking in the shadow or the sun was setting.

He heard some of the men complaining and he was sure Angasicil heard it too.

'We are walking for hours! When do we arrive at our destination? My feet are burning! Look, it is completely dark already!'

_So it is night. We are walking for at least two days then. _Legolas knew that he, the twins and Angasicil could walk like this for at least four days, because they could drift in elven dreams while walking. The humans, however, couldn't. _I hope we stop soon, the more delay, the better._

A human walked to Angasicil. 'My lord, when do we rest? My men cannot walk for much longer, we 'ave already travelled two days without any pauses!'

'Shut up, Basson. We rest when I say it. You see that hill over there? We camp on the other side.'

Basson turned around and walked away, this time with good news. He was wondering if he should ask more money, this job was definitely harder than normally. His men were tired and, to make matters worse, the elves they were guarding were still walking without even the slightest hint of fatigue. It also worried him, they had barely escaped the elven king in Mirkwood, after killing his wife and almost killing his son, and they had now taken three elves, what if the dark haired ones were important to the other elven realm? This was getting increasingly dangerous.

It took another hour to reach the camping spot and when they arrived, all the men could do was sink down to sleep. The twins and Legolas were bound in the middle of the camp. Angasicil looked around the camp and cursed. He, Legolas and the twins were the only ones awake. _Great. Never hire men again._

He removed the blindfolds and woke some humans, to guard the prisoners, after making sure the three elflings couldn't escape he moved to the edge of the camp.

As soon as Angasicil had disappeared the three elflings moved closer to each other. Elladan was the first that spoke. 'Legolas, it is obvious you know this elf, would you like to tell us who he is and why we are his prisoners? And I would also like to know why you didn't tell us you where the prince!'

Legolas sighed, 'I was planning to tell you, actually, I would've told Glorfindel in the library if he hadn't gone away. It was important to keep my identity hidden, my father suspected that there was somewhere a traitor, after the second attempt on my life-'

'What? A second attempt? Did someone try to kill you?' Elrohir and Elladan where completely shocked, especially because Legolas told it so casually, as if it was normal.

'Yes, I was in my father's study when it happened. A human sneaked in and almost managed to kill me, I escaped with a lot of luck. My father decided it was not safe in the palace anymore. Now it all makes sense! It was Angasicil who brought me to my father's study and he probably showed the human where I was. Angasicil was the one who said that there could be a traitor and that I should go to another elven realm. Still, something must has gone wrong, because the humans attacked him in their ambush, and I could escape.'

'You have been ambushed on the way to Rivendell and you escaped? How did you manage to find you way then? You have never been in Imladris, have you?'

'I had a map.'

They fell silent for a moment, then Elladan said 'But why? Why would he do such a thing?'

Legolas shook his head. 'I honestly don't know. He has always been my father's advisor, before I was even born. He has fought in the last alliance and was one of the few that left the battle field alive. His father, and two brothers died. I know that his mother died of grief shortly after the news, he was the only one remaining alive.'

'You think it is about vengeance?'

'I do not know, if it is why would he take revenge now, after all those years?'

'An excellent question, your highness!'

The elflings turned around as one, after hearing these words. Angasicil had heard the last part of their conversation without them even noticing. 'Why should I take vengeance after all those years? Well, let me tell you something; this wasn't the plan. Shortly after my mother died I swore to kill the king, like he had killed my mother, father and two brothers. But then I saw him and Mirilya, kissing and I decided to wait. The king must die, but not of a stab wound or another weapon. Tears will kill him, like they killed my mother. So, shortly after Thranduil married I decided to take the life of Mirilya, I already had the arrow pointing at her, when I saw Thranduil enter the clearing she was in. I heard their conversation.

'_Velethril nîn, why did you want to meet me?' /My love/ Thranduil strode the clearing in, looking rather stressed. _

_Mirilya let out a tinkling laughter and petted to the ground next to her. 'Sit down, my beloved husband. The advisors keep you to busy.'_

_With a long sigh Thranduil flopped down on the grass. 'Running a realm is even harder as I thought. I will go mad if I don't take a break every now and then.'_

'_That's what I'm for, my love, I shall make sure you don't get mad.'_

'_Hannon le, Hiril vell! I am grateful.' /thank you, beloved lady/ Thranduil leaned over to kiss her passionately. After a few minutes they parted again, slightly out of breath. _

_Thranduil laid his head in Mirilya's lap, and she started stroking his hair. After a few minutes of peaceful silence Mirilya moved, until Thranduil sat against a tree and she leaned against him. The queen guided his hands to her belly. Thranduil's eyes widened when he heard the song of a third feä join his and Mirilya's. 'It cannot be.'_

_Mirilya's soft voice cleared his mind of any doubts, 'You are going to be a father, dear husband.'_

_Thranduil was speechless of a moment, he closed his eyes and listened to the feä of the little baby in Mirilya's womb. Then he turned around and kissed her. 'Gi melin!'/I love you/_

'I will save you the further details but that was the moment I decided to wait just a bit longer, I learned about trade and I managed to become a trusted advisor in the palace. I waited patiently, I watched how you grew and I saw your parents' happiness. I met Basson in Dale and I decided that now was the right time for me.

'I told Thranduil that the master of Dale expected a royal visit. I made sure that Thranduil was too busy to go himself. Then Mirilya decided to help him and she suggested that she could visit them. You managed to convince your father to come along. I was happy, I knew that you would be ambushed and I could hardly wait to see Thranduil die.'

Angasicil made a mocking bow. 'I hope I've satisfied your curiosity, your Highness. Now I would-'

'Coward! You do not dare to face my father and that's why you attack us! It was never my father's fault that the last alliance demanded so much life! The lives were given for a good purpose; to rid the world of all evil. You dishonour the warriors that died! You were not the only one that has lost. My father lost his own father and his mother sailed.'

'Shut up! You little pathetic weakling! You have never seen someone die of total grief! You have never seen someone fade away, losing the will to live! I honour my mother with this!'

'No, I've never seen my mother die of grief. I've seen her murdered before my very own eyes! You are a coward and you do not deserve my attention. I will not speak with you anymore.'

'You think you can order me around? Ha! You are no more than a prisoner! Look at me when I'm talking to you! LOOK AT ME!' Angasicil grabbed Legolas' hair and pulled him up. 'LOOK ME IN THE EYES!' he backhanded Legolas, but still, the prince did not look at him. 'LOOK AT ME!' another slap was the result of Legolas' refusal. Angasicil turned around. 'Pathetic excuse for a prince! I have no desire for your company anymore, I will leave now.'

After Angasicil was gone again the twins said simultaneously. 'Legolas!'

Legolas only smiled in grim satisfaction. He had a split lip and a bleeding nose but he did not care, he had showed Angasicil that he was not afraid. Elladan ripped a piece of his tunic and gave it to Legolas. 'dab it against your nose, I am sure the bleeding will stop in a few moments.'

Elrohir nodded and added. 'It is already lessening. But Legolas, why did you provoke him? He is dangerous and I don't understand why you anger him.'

The prince sighed before he answered. 'He will kill me anyway. Let me at least die as the Prince the people think I am. I will not show fear towards him and I can handle a little pain if that angers him.'

Elladan smiled sadly. 'Have you lost hope? Do not despair yet, I am sure that Ada, Erestor or Glorfindel will find us. I myself despaired while walking but I've felt hope again. You should feel the same.'

Legolas nodded, determined. 'Then I shall hold on to hope 'till the rescue or 'till my last breath. This I promise: I will not despair again, no matter what the situation might be.'

…

King Thranduil was pacing in his study. He and some trusted members of the guard had searched the whole palace and questioned everybody, but there was no trace of the traitor yet. He was wondering if he should sent a letter to Angasicil in Imladris, after all, there was no traitor so Legolas was safe. He grabbed his quill and started writing.

As soon as he was done he called a messenger. 'Malkarion, this letter is for Angasicil, the advisor that is momentarily in Rivendell. The message bears important news and may not fall in other hands than yours or Angasicil's. Please, go as quick as you can and take the fastest stallion from the royal stables.'

'Of course, my lord. I shall leave in the morrow. Am I dismissed?'

'You are, thank you.'

After Malkarion left Thranduil started pacing again. Something was wrong, he just knew it. He had, however, no time for worrying, he had piles of unfinished work. With those thoughts he directed his concentration on his work, and a few moments later he had almost forgotten the feeling.

…

'Lord Elrond! We've found the track again!' Mahtar pointed at the ground. The last two days were starting to get on everyone's nerves. The ground had turned rocky, making the tracks almost impossible to see in the daylight. They could not continue through the night, making it even harder to catch up with the kidnappers.

'Good! Which way does it go?'

'It is still going towards the mountains. But it is very hard to see. It is going to be dark soon.'

'Try to find a good place for the night. It is of no use if we cannot follow the trail.'

'Yes, my lord!'

Half an hour later they were laying in their bedrolls, although no one could actually find sleep. Most elves just laid down and watched the night sky. Suddenly Glorfindel shot up. 'I hear hoof beats! Grab your weapons and be ready!'

A few moments later five riders appeared on the horizons, with behind them at least ten horses. 'Why do they have so much horses?'

After a moment Erestor said: 'Look, Glorfindel is that white horse not Asfaloth?'

Glorfindel looked very closely before answering. 'You are right, my friend. This must be the extra warriors from Imladris, and they have taken our horses with them!'

They waited patiently for the riders to arrive. Palurin was riding in the front. He jumped of his horse and made a bow to lord Elrond. 'My lord, the reinforcement has arrived and we brought you your horses, because the message said that all speed was necessary.'

'I thank you for your quick thinking, Palurin. You have just made this pursue a lot easier.'

'Thank you, my lord. I've also asked Badrandir to come with us. He could find your tracks even if we could not find them.'

'Again I have to thank you. It is difficult to follow this trail for we have no real trackers with us. His help will be of invaluable importance. It seems that you and your men have not taken any breaks since you left Imladris. Come and rest here. We will continue in the morrow.'

Palurin bowed one more time before guiding his horse to the edge of the camp.

Elrond smiled. With the help of Badrandir it would be possible to pursue the kidnappers in the night and with their horses they could easily overtake them. His hopes were raised again.

…

**Another chapter done! I'm really tired now so I hope it didn't affect this chapter. Please leave a review if you have any questions, critique or just want to say something!**

**I want to thank **_**nightwillow14, Oleanne, Issy **_**and the**_** guest **_**for their review! I appreciate that you take your time to review this story! Thank you!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**

**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**

…

Malkarion rode hard. He heard only the sound of his horse's hoofs on the ground. He had had a brief run-in with a few orcs but he had defeated them without any difficulties. He was happy that king Thranduil had given him this important mission. Malkarion was quiet young and it was an honour to know that the king thought him capable of delivering such a message.

He knew that, in spite of his youth, he was one of the fastest messengers. He had once rode to Lothlorien in four days, a fact that no one had repeated yet. He heard a group of humans coming closer and he decided to hide behind some boulders, just in case. What he saw was unforgivable. A group humans were dragging three elflings with them. Two dark haired and one blonde. Malkarion felt his anger rise when he saw his prince and the twins of Imladris being handled like that. _I have to go to Imladris immediately, I wish I could help the prince right now but the men are with too much._

He waited until he was sure that the men could not see him and ran to his horse. To his surprise it was not there anymore. Behind him sounded a voice. 'Looking for your horse?'

He whirled around and came eye-to-eye with Angasicil. 'Angasicil! The prince is kidnapped, we have to help him!'

Angasicil unsheathed his sword, ignoring Malkarion. 'Angasicil? What are you-'

The messenger jumped away just in time to avoid a fatal wound. He grabbed his own sword and barely parried another blow. 'Are you mad!'

The next blow hit him on his left leg, making him fall on the ground. The last thing he saw was Angasicil standing over him, his sword ready for the final blow. A pain exploded in his chest. A last thought in his mind. _Namárië ada ar nana. _

…

Angasicil came back with blood on his sword, something that shocked the elflings. Legolas was hoping that this was not what he thought it was. Angasicil walked towards them and said, casually. 'Legolas, remember the messenger that went to Lothlorien in four days? What was his name again?'

'His name was Malkarion.'

'Ah yes! Almost forgotten. Means something like son of golden glory in the common tongue, right? Well, he is dead.'

Legolas' eyes flickered from the bloodied sword to Angasicil and back again. 'You killed him, didn't you?'

'you don't sound surprised, young prince. But you are right, he had seen too much.'

Elladan pointed accusingly to Angasicil. 'You are a kinslayer! A murderer.'

Angasicil shrugged with his shoulders. 'I did not come to hear accusations, so shut up. I want to take a walk and Legolas is going to join me.'

Without more words he grabbed Legolas' hair and dragged the prince with him, they walked for five minutes. 'Legolas, this is something I have longed to show you. We are at close by the mountains, in the east you can see Caradrhas the cruel. Are the mountains not beautiful?'

'The landscape is beautiful, beyond doubt. But I don't think you only want to show your geographical knowledge.'

'Indeed not, young prince. I want to show you something. Look at the base of the mountain. What can you see?'

'I see holes in the ground and caves.'

'The caves! I'm happy you can see them. Tomorrow, you and I are going to visit one of them. That cave is going to be a very special place, for both of us.'

'I doubt it, anything special for you is bad for me.'

'I think that a grave is a very special place.'

Legolas said nothing, he only stared at the caves. A feeling of defeat washed over him. Tomorrow. It would all end tomorrow. He vaguely heard Angasicil's voice but he ignored him. His hands were trembling and he tried to show no fear. He wanted to face death brave but it was hard. He did not want to die! He wanted to live. Angasicil's hand connected with his cheek, leaving a print. 'Listen to me! I was talking to you! I was telling you that you should thank me: I've decided to give you a chance to talk to your friends.'

Legolas raised his eyebrows. The first shock was gone, he squired his shoulders and his lifted his chin in the air, showing Angasicil the true prince he was. 'I have to thank you for killing me tomorrow? I don't think so!'

He turned around and walked away, to the camp. He felt Angasicil walking behind him but he didn't care, not anymore. He went directly to Elladan and Elrohir, who said as one: 'What happened? What did he say? You look as pale as a ghost!'

Legolas didn't say anything. He simply laid down and gazed at the sky. This behaviour worried the twins even more. They laid themselves down next to him, each on a side. They laid there for a long time. The sun went down and the moon and the stars were twinkling in the sky when Legolas spoke. 'Will this be the last time I look upon the stars? I hope not for I would miss their light greatly. Do stars shine in the halls of Mandos?'

'Why do you ask?' Elrohir frowned and sat up. He took a good look on Legolas' face. His lips were already starting to heal and he had somehow managed to remove the blood. A red handprint was still on his cheek. His expression was strangely peaceful, as if he had accepted his fate.

Legolas looked both the twin in the eyes before he answered. 'He is going to kill me tomorrow. He has even shown me the place.'

'NO! That cannot happen! Legolas, you have to escape!' Elladan jumped up, trying to find a way out, to no avail. They were still surrounded by the humans and Angasicil could catch them if they tried to run. There was no way out.

The twins laid their arms over Legolas' shoulders, trying to bring some comfort. Legolas smiled sadly and seemed to hesitate, he opened his mouth and closed it again, only to repeat it a few moments later. Eventually he said. 'I- I would like to ask you something. If I- if I get… if I don't survive this, could- could you tell my father that… that I love him? Please?'

'Of course we would! And we would tell about the brave prince of Mirkwood, whom could not be broken!' Elladan said. 'But you are not going to die. Our father will find us soon, maybe even tonight. Maybe his warriors are watching us right now, making a plan to attack!'

'Thank you, Elladan. You and Elrohir are the best friends an elf could possibly wish for. I have promised it already and I shall promise it again: I will hold on hope 'till we are rescued or 'till my last breath. If I have to die: I shall die with hope.'

Then the boys laid back and watched the stars, sometimes naming them but most of the time just watching. They shared a silence only friends could share; a silence in which no words were needed.

They laid there the whole night and watched the east sky grow red with the colours of a sunrise.

…

Something was laying before them. It did not move nor did it make any sound. The elves came warily forward, weapons in the hand. Palurin suddenly uttered a cry. 'NO! Malkarion, gwador nin!'

He ran forward and grabbed the body. Frantically he searched for a heartbeat that wasn't there. His ears close to his brother's mouth he listened to the non-existing breaths. After a minute he slumped back, defeated. He did not even notice that Mathar grabbed his shoulders and lead him away from the body.

Erestor moved to Palurin and Mathar to give his support. Glorfindel and Elrond kneeled by the body. They examined it carefully. 'He died by a sword, that much is certain. He also has a wound on his leg, this is not the work of orcs or men.'

Glorfindel nodded, 'The tracks told us that there is an elf with the men, do you think he killed Malkarion?'

Glorfindel could see the answer of that question in Elrond's grim eyes, they were dealing with a kinslayer. 'We cannot leave the body here, to be devoured by predators. His body should be buried in an elven realm.'

'Yes, it would be disrespectful if we leave the body. I shall ask Palurin and two other warriors to return with the body to Imladris. I do not think that Palurin can continue now.'

After the arrangements were made the rest of the elves mouthed again. Elrond spoke a few more words: 'Hiro hîdh nen gurth Malkarion.' /_May Malkarion find peace in death_/

The elves mouthed and galloped away, leaving Palurin and the two warriors alone.

…

With fire in their hearts the elves rode on, every elf was on full alert now and ready to kill everyone that was working with the kinslayer. Badrandir rode in the front and no sign escaped his keen eyes. A bit of dirt, a bit of clothing, everything he used to lead the company further and towards the killers. Yet no one was as angry or as afraid as lord Elrond was.

His sons were in the hands of a murderer, someone who had killed an innocent elf. But what if… what if he had already killed Elladan and Elrohir? What if their bodies were laying somewhere? He got a lump in his throat by just thinking of it. If the twins died.. if they were dead, he would not survive and their sister neither. He did not even note that Glorfindel and Erestor were looking worriedly to him.

Eventually Glorfindel spoke, 'Elrond, mellon nin, what are you thinking?'

'What do you think I'm thinking?' Elrond responded.

'I do not know what you are thinking unless you are thinking what I think you are thinking.'

'What?' A puzzled expression crossed Elrond's face while he tried to figure out what Glorfindel had just said. After a few moments of puzzling he answered. 'What are you thinking that I am thinking?'

'I think that you think about your sons, or rather, that you worry about them.'

'Would you not? My sons are in the hands of a complete madman! Someone who kills his own kin. What if he has already-… if they are already..'

Erestor shoke his head viciously. 'Your sons are alive, and so is the prince. Why would we continue with this search if we didn't believe that. Nay, my lord, you must not give up hope. Every day a new sun rises, every day, every hour we come closer. Look to the east, the sky is already colouring with the colours for the sunrise.'

'Aye,' continued Glorfindel. 'a new sunrise means new hope. Do not despair for despair is folly, even in times of the greatest misery. A new sunrise, a new day, a new chance.'

The three elves continued to watch the sunrise, not knowing that this sunrise brought despair to the hearts of three young elves. Not realising that their sign of hope was a sign of death to the elflings.

…

**This is the last chapter I write for at least three weeks, school's out and I'm going on a holiday! I shall write another chapter in the holiday but I can't update the story there, so I will post again over three weeks, give or take a few days**

_**Leoluin, issy, Rachielle **_**and the **_**guest**_**, thank you very much for your reviews and I hope that you all liked this chapter! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**

**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**

…

The sun had just popped over the horizon when Angasicil walked to the three elflings. He radiated satisfaction, from the way he walked to the way he grinned. Legolas swallowed a few times, he could not ban all the fear in his eyes but he did a good job nonetheless. After a few deep breaths he was able to look in Angasicil's eyes. The other elf barely hid a grin when he pulled the prince up and checked his bonds. 'Today is the big day, I believe. We must not keep fate waiting, young prince. Let us go!'

The words had barely left his mouth when the twins jumped up and attacked him, in a last attempt to safe Legolas. Angasicil was thrown of balance by their unexpected attack and it took him and the men several minutes the restrain the brothers. In the end the elf spotted a bleeding lip and a rather black eye. 'Ahh, Legolas! You made a few aggressive friends in Rivendell, I see. It would be unfair to ignore them, wouldn't it? I think they will perform perfectly as an audience. The more the better!'  
>Without further ado he pressed a knife to Legolas throat and led him to the caves, motioning the twins to follow him. The walk did not take longer than five minutes and soon they arrived at the entrance of the cave. Angasicil grabbed a torch and forced them further into it.<p>

The cave was a labyrinth of corridors and after a little while only Angasicil still knew where they were. The walls were a bit damp and very rough, suggesting that this was a natural cave. Sometimes the elves could here drops of water falling to the floor, although they could not find its source. The longer they walked the uneasier they became. Legolas was wondering where Angasicil was leading them, just as the twins.

After a two hour walk, they arrived in a kind of chamber. In the flickering light of the torch the elves could see a set of chains hanging from the ceiling and some other sets in the wall. Angasicil did not waste more time then was necessary, he dragged the twins to a pair of chains in the wall and fastened them, thereafter he pulled Legolas to the chains hanging from the ceiling and chained him too. The elflings toes barely reached the ground once he was fastened. Angasicil set a few steps backwards and admired his accomplishments, clearly happy with it. 'A beautiful cave this is, isn't it? I liked this place from the first moment I saw it, it took me quite some time to decorate it but I think the result was well worth it. Enough talking. Over to business; let's start, shall we?'

He walked lazily to something that appeared a closet and he took something out it. Legolas could not see it for his back was turned to the closet but the twins could, two sharp intakes of breath confirmed that they had recognized the object. Angasicil walked around Legolas showing the three tonged whip, enjoying the moment that he saw the elfling's eyes widen in fear. He smiled knowingly and stared to the prince for a few more seconds, clearly grifting this picture in his memory. 'you thought I would simply kill you, didn't you? Well, I'm not, or at least, not with a knife or another weapon. This cave was on the point of collapsing when I first came here, and I know how I can collapse it again. The only thing I have to do is to remove a kind of stick in the entrance and the whole passage collapse, wonderful isn't it? But don't be afraid for the cave-in, I've made sure that this chamber will not collapse. You will be cut off from all possible help. I wonder how long it will take before you succumb to hunger and thirst.'

Then he lifted his arm for the first blows.

Soon the sound of a whip hitting flesh echoed through the chamber. Elladan could only watch horrified how the whip left mark after mark on Legolas' skin. It teared through his clothes as if they did not even exist.

Angasicil did not leave an inch of undamaged flesh, his whip hit everything. Elladan watched with wide eyes how not only Legolas' back but also his chest, his bottom, his legs, his sides, his arms and even his face were hit by the whip. Legolas was thrashing wildly in his chains, instinctively trying to avoid the pain the whip caused. He was biting on his underlip, trying not to scream. The whip hit him again with an unimaginable force, it seemed as if Angasicil saw his struggle to remain quiet and started to hit even harder and faster. Suddenly the pain overwhelmed Legolas and he couldn't hold back his pain filled cries.

Elladan and Elrohir tried to cover their ears with their hands, they couldn't listen to this while knowing there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. Every cry seemed to rip right through them, and the sound would haunt their memories and dreams for a long time. It seemed hours before Legolas' cries became pitiful moans.

Elrohir couldn't see it very clear but it appeared to him that Legolas was also crying, just like he and his twin, he realised. Still, he wasn't ashamed of his tears, it was no sin to cry for the pain of a good friend, even if it meant showing weakness to an enemy. He also noticed that Legolas had ceased his thrashing against the chains that hold him, more precisely, he was completely motionless. Angasicil stopped when he, too, noticed that Legolas had fallen into unconsciousness. With a devilish grin he woke the prince again with a bucket of water, only to beat him again until he passed out. This time Legolas did not even have the energy to scream from pain, he simply shook in his chains from silent sobs.

After four times of falling unconscious it was impossible to wake Legolas, water or not. Angasicil threw the blood-dripping whip away and walked to the twins, untying them from the chains and binding their hands behind their backs once more. Then he walked over to Legolas and did the same, but he bound Legolas feet too, leaving him almost completely immobile.

Angasicil dragged the two brothers out the camber, not giving them the opportunity to look behind them, although he himself looked back once more. The prince was lying motionless on the floor, his whole body covered in blood. He was almost completely naked, his clothes were no more than bloodied rags, concealing nothing of the damage done by his whip. The traitor did not feel any remorse, the opposite in fact: he would cherish this memory for the rest of his life. Thranduil would die as the last of the royal family, and he would die from grief, exactly as his mother had. With a satisfied grin he dragged the shocked twins to the entrance, not caring which scars he had lead on their souls by forcing them to watch their friend being beaten.  
><strong>…<strong>  
>The humans' camp was finally in sight, something that filled all the elves with a grim determination to avenge the dead of a fellow elf and the capture of their lord's sons and the Mirkwood prince.<br>Only Elrond was troubled, he had taken a quick look through the camp and he couldn't find his sons or the prince. He did a double check but still he couldn't see them. It was so frustrating. He knew that his sons were here somewhere, yet it was impossible to spot them. Glorfindel appeared to his right. 'My lord, should we attack?'

With a quick shake of his head Elrond fixed his thoughts on the upcoming battle, something that was a lot harder than it should be. 'Yes, but leave at least one of them alive, preferable the leader, he might know where the traitor elf is and my sons and the prince.'

Glorfindel nodded to his lord before repeating his orders to the warriors, when they were all ready, they attacked. The battle was a short one, the humans were taken by surprise and were no match for the trained elven warriors, in a few minutes most of the humans were dead.

Elrond ducked a blade from one of the remaining humans, he attacked but the man managed to block his blows, if only barely. This man triggered a memory in the back of his mind. Red hair, while all the other men were from the east, whose hair where usually very dark, strange. It took him another moment to remember Thranduil's letter and all doubt melted as snow in the sun. After a few movements he had the man cornered and with a swift blow he unarmed him. His sword still pointed at the leaders chest as he grunted out: 'Where are they? The captured elves, speak quickly!'

With fear in his eyes the man answered. 'Our- Our leader led them to his cave.' The man suddenly fell to his knees. 'Spare me! I beg you! Spare my life!'

With disgust Elrond watched this display. 'Where is the cave?'

The men pointed to a direction, too terrified to speak. Elrond motioned two of his warriors. 'bind his hands, he shall be lead to king Thranduil. The rest of the warriors, follow me!'

Elrond ran away, closely followed by Erestor and Glorfindel. They reached the cave in a matter of minutes, just in time to see Angasicil appear with the twins. The traitor blanched when he saw them but reacted quicker than expected. Without hesitation he knocked both the twins unconscious, then he grabbed something in the entrance of the cave, a stick it seemed. Suddenly the cave started to tremble and collapse. The last thing Elrond saw were his sons, disappearing under tons of rocks.

'No!' Elrond tried to leap forwards, not even noticing how Glorfindel grabbed him by his shoulders in order to stop him. He struggled against his grip for something that seemed an eternity, but reason returned to him, fighting the waves of despair that threatened to overcome him. 'Help me remove these rocks!'

Glorfindel and he were the first to reach the collapsed entrance. Erestor and the other warrior followed immediately. They worked in silence for a long time, removing the smaller rocks and praying that the twins were not dead.

None of them saw how Angasicil ran to their horses and stole one. He galloped away.

Something was pressing on his leg, Elrohir thought. He tried to open his eyes but his heavy eyelids made that impossible. Almost dreamily he wondered what had happened. He found that he did not really care, somehow he thought it was better to remain like this, feeling as if he was drifting just above his body. As soon as he had decided that a voice sounded, panicked. 'Muindor nin, please wake! Elrohir!'

It was an irritating voice he decided, he had just decided to stay as he was and this voice wanted to lure him out. Still, the voice awoke curiosity in him, why would the voice sound so panicked, he wondered. After a few moments he pried one eye open. Slowly he watched his surrounding, it was dark and his eyes were not yet adjusted to the light or, rather, lack thereof. The voice spoke again, from somewhere above his face. 'Elrohir! Are you awake?'

It took some time to realize that the voice was talking to him and that the voice was connected to a blurry face that was hovering above him. He felt as if he should know this face, as if it was familiar but he couldn't remember. Slowly his lips formed words. 'W..who?'

Even to himself his voice sounded weak and he frowned, he couldn't remember his voice sounding like that. he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his right leg stopped him. The blurry face before him spoke again and he directed his attention to the spoken words rather than to his painfully throbbing leg. 'Don't move, a rock is laying on your leg and I think you hit your head rather hard when you fell, can you tell me how much fingers I am holding up?'

Elrohir tried to focus but he couldn't, so he said a random number. 'two?'

Elladan frowned when he heard that. He was holding up four fingers and it was a very bad sign that Elrohir couldn't focus on his surroundings. He noticed that his twin spoke again. 'W- who are y-you?'

Elladan was stunned for a moment, totally frozen while the words registered in his brain. Then he exclaimed: 'It is me, Elladan, your twin! Please say you recognize me, my brother!'

Elrohir's expression changed in one of utter concentration while he thought about this person's, apparently his twin's, words. For a small moment a fleeting memory appeared, showing Elladan's laughing face, then it disappeared. When Elrohir tried to mentally grab the memory a fiercely pain shot through is head, making him moan out loud. After a few minutes the pain disappeared, leaving Elrohir completely breathless with is eyes shut tight. He heard the voice again, this time it sounded anxious and afraid. 'Elrohir? 'Ro? Can you hear me?'

Elrohir tried to nod but thought better of it, his head still felt as if a mûmak had been sitting on it. ' I hear you.'

'Ai, my brother! Do you truly not recognize me? Can you truly not remember me?'  
>Very slowly Elrohir answered. 'I do know you or I knew you, but I do not remember you, isn't that strange?'<p>

Elladan only nodded, trying to hide the fact that he was crying. He had been sure he could always count on his twin, always! They had even sworn to each other to follow. He knew that when he died or when he sailed, Elrohir would always be right behind him, and vice versa, something that had always been comforting. To lose that foothold was almost as hard as his mother's decision to sail and leave them. His brother's soft voice interrupted his thoughts. "Dan? What's wrong? Are you.. Are you crying?'

The young elf shook his head, and remembered then that Elrohir could not see that. 'No, it is nothing. How do you feel?'

Elrohir's eyebrows shot up, and with that gesture he managed to suggest that he didn't believe him and thought him a fool if Elladan really thought that he was going to believe that. 'Don't cry. I have always trusted you, or so I think, so I trust you now. Will you tell me about me? About us? Maybe I will remember, but please come closer first, I cannot see your face clearly but your presence is comforting nonetheless.'

Elladan smiled and moved to his brothers slightly glowing form, muttering a curse when he leaned on his right arm. He had forgotten about his shoulder, somehow he had managed to dislocate it, something that pained him to no end. Elrohir had heard his curse. 'You are not well yourself. Why didn't you tell me? Come, sit beside me and rest. I cannot sleep anymore and neither can I move. You will need all your strength.'

'I shall find no rest here, not until I'm sure that we all are safe again: you, me and Legolas.'  
>'Who is Legolas?' Elrohir asked while he was looking around as if he was expecting another elf to pop out the walls. Elladan waved vaguely with his hands.<p>

'A friend of ours, he was in this cave when it collapsed, only farther back.' He neglected to mention anything about what had really happened, because he didn't want to burden his brother with his knowledge and because he himself didn't want to remember it, Elladan was sure he could still hear his friend's cries if he thought about it.

No, he would not think about it. He was also wondering why Angsicil had left them here, so close to the entrance. One moment he had been boasting about his succeeded plan and the next.. Elladan's hand touched the bump on his temple, the next moment he had hit them and collapsed the cave. It didn't make sense. He closed his eyes and searched his memories, he remembered seeing the human camp, in utter chaos, before everything turned black. Why had there been chaos? He tried to remember every detail and stiffened when he saw something in his memory, he had seen a warrior, a warrior from Imladris, Mahtar was his name he thought. Hope sparked in him. Could it be possible? Was it possible? Was their father here? He concentrated on his hearing now, their father would surely try to dig them out. The twin was rewarded with the sound of shoving stones, barely hearable. He quickly cried: 'We are here! Ada! We are here!'

After a long pause he heard someone call something, he could not hear the words but he screamed nonetheless: 'We are here! Does somebody hear me?'

Elrohir seemed to understand his plan and started calling too, although every shout sent fire through his brain. They were rewarded when the sound of shoving rocks came closer to them.

A few rays of sunlight lightened the dark space in which Elladan and Elrohir had been trapped. This time they could clearly hear the voices outside, it took quite some time to make a hole big enough for an adult elf to come in. As soon as it was possible Elrond entered the place. He saw Elladan and Elrohir and couldn't suppress his shout of joy. His face became worried when he took a good look. He saw Elrohir, whose leg was trapped under a great rock and rushed towards the young elf. To his great surprise Elrohir tried to push himself back, staring from Elrond to Elladan and back again. Elladan laid his hand reassuring on his twins shoulder. 'It is out Adar, he will protect us.'

Elrohir slowly nodded before gazing at Elrond again, this time curious. The healer in Elrond took over and he walked closer very slowly, eying his youngest son. 'Elrohir, I am a healer, may I have a look at your head?'

After a slight hesitation Elrohir said: 'Of course.. Ada?'

With a smile Elrond replied: 'It is me, my son. Glorfindel and Erestor are also here, they are going to help me to free you. All the elves that you are going to meet are here to protect you and your brother.'

Elrohir seemed reassured so Elrond came closer. He kneeled next to his youngest son and started to examine him. While he was busy caring for his youngest son his frown grew deeper. Elrohir's eyes couldn't focus on anything, Elladan and he himself were no more than blurry forms but the worst was his obvious memory loss. Elladan watched his father carefully, willing him to say that it is going to be all right, that Elrohir would recover. When such words didn't came he closed his eyes, praying that his brother was going to be fine. He saw how Glorfindel and Erestor came in, and the three adult elves tried to move the rock that held Elrohir stuck.

Elrohir paled from the pain when the rock moved and fell back again. His father saw this and motioned the other elves to stop. 'Elrohir, I know you are in pain. I am going to make something that will put you to sleep.'

Elrohir did not answer because he was in too much pain. Elrond left the cave, after making sure that Glorfindel and Erestor stayed, they heard his orders for a fire and water. Glorfindel took a good look at Elladan, the oldest twin was pale as a ghost, and hold his shoulder to his chest. 'What has happened, Elladan? Where is the prince? Is your shoulder hurt?'

'My shoulder could be worse, I guess, I was lucky.'

'I will tend to it when your father returns with supplies. What about the prince, where is he? Is he alive?'

Elladan swallowed a few times, trying not to hear Legolas' screams again. 'He..I-I don't know if he still lives. It- Angasicil... He.. He.'

Glorfindel leaned closer, hearing the distress in Elladan's voice. 'What happened Elladan? What did you see?'

'He- he bound me and Elrohir to the wall, and Legolas to the ceiling… He… The last thing I saw was Angasicil cutting Legolas from his bonds.. He wants Legolas to starve!... If he isn't dead already... There was so much blood.. and he didn't move at all..'

'We shall find him, young one. We shall not return to king Thranduil bearing the news of his son's death. Have faith.' Glorfindel's tone was calm, belying the chaos in his mind, yet his vow was true. They would _not _return to Mirkwood with bad news, not if he could help it, and neither would they let a young elfling starve. It would _not_ happen.  
><strong>…<br>**Pain raged through his body and he wished it would stop. With his eyes closed Legolas tried to supress the pain, without much effort. Somehow he knew he was still in danger but he did not try to move. A shudder ran through the ground, confirming his suspicions and in the distance he heard a low rumbling, from the ceiling fell dust.

The dust made him cough, harder and harder. With tears in his eyes he tried to oppress it, every movement he made, was followed by a horrible ache all over his body. The coughing grew more painful by the moment and he curled himself up in a fetal position. Doing so, he rubbed unintentionally more dust in the whip marks all over his body, making it sting terribly. With a muffled moan he closed his eyes again and welcomed the oncoming painless darkness.

…

**Longest chapter I've ever written! So, I'm back from my holiday, which was great, by the way, Venice is a beautiful city! I actually wanted to post this yesterday but I was too tired, so, sorry for the delay and I hope you like this chapter! Thank you for your reviews ****Issy ****and ****Leoluin!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**

**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**

_…_

It was dark. Not a single ray of light penetrated the darkness around him. Not a single ray of hope. This dark was not comforting, this dark mirrored the feelings in himself: despair, sadness, pain.

He did not know that a body could take this much pain and still continued to draw breath, it seemed impossible. Yet, somehow his body managed it. Managed to draw breath although every intake of air hurt. He truly did not know how long he laid there, in the endless dark, and felt only pain. Focussing on something else seemed too difficult to even try but it was better than concentrate on this pain. He heard a faint dripping. Dripping, it meant that something, probably a liquid, was falling from the ceiling. A liquid... A liquid.. Why did he think liquid was this important? It took a very long time until his brain found the answer. Liquid meant something drinkable, drinking would lessen the thirst he was feeling.

With a new determination Legolas tried to stand up and move to the sound of the dripping. As soon as he moved his arms to support himself he cried out in pain. His arms and legs where bound. The memories he had tried to suppress resurfaced. The unbearable pain in his body as the whip fell and fell.. The voice that was crying out, his voice. After eternities the welcoming blackness came, but not for long.. Cold water had woken him and it all started again, until he had not even the strength the cry out anymore. Yet, that had not even been the worst part… it were his eyes, Angasicil's eyes, the sickening pleasing, yes even happiness, he had seen in them with every stroke. It was enough to send shivers of dread over his back.

How could his throat feel so dry? That should not be possible. The dripping was starting to get on his nerves, it was so close, he was so close to end his thirst, yet, even the few metres it would take to reach the dripping was too long for him. The problem was that he simply had not enough strength to stand up and walk… but why would he get up? It was possible to move oneself without getting up. Slowly Legolas started to crawl to the sound of the dripping.

It was a long and unbelievable painful journey but eventually he reached it. The first drips water on his tongue tasted like his father's best wine. As soon as his thirst was satisfied Legolas looked around once more. The chamber where he was laying had not collapsed, and he knew that the entrance was near, although he could not see it. His hands were still tied behind his back although he had the idea that he could move his hands a bit. He rolled over to his back and closed his eyes before he started to rub his rope around his arms against the rough floor, hoping to break it. He was surprised when it actually worked.

In his excitement to untie his feet he forgot for a moment about his injuries, something he regretted almost immediately. When the pain had faded he tried it again. This time he carefully undid the knot and freed his legs. He crawled until he found a wall and tried to stand up, leaning against it. He made a few wobbling steps, still leaning heavily on the wall. With a determined expression he started 'walking' to the place where he thought the entrance was. He knew that this cave was a labyrinth of passages but he had still some memory of the way back. He took a deep breath and walked out the chamber.

_…_

Elrond was ordering his herbs when Glorfindel returned. His face was grim and his hair dusty. 'We have cleared the entrance but the cave is one huge labyrinth, we cannot even find tracks!'

Elladan walked out the tent where his twin was recovering, 'Glorfindel, have you found anything yet?'

Glorfindel shook his head sadly. 'I'm afraid not.'

'What! But It is already three days ago that you found me and Elrohir! Surely you must have found something?'

'I'm sorry penneth, we do not know which passage we must take, and we cannot find any tracks.'

Elrond placed a comforting hand on Elladan's shoulder. 'Maybe Mathar or Badrandir will find something. Why don't you go back to your brother? I will be there in a minute.'

After Elladan had left, Glorfindel looked Elrond in the eye. 'How long can an elf go without water?'

'A healthy adult can go without water for a week, but an injured elfling… Maybe three or four days at the most.'

'Just one or two days left and we haven't even found a clue! I promised Elladan that we would not abandon the prince but how can we find him!' Glorfindel sunk to the ground and covered his face with his hands in despair.

'Have faith, Mellon nin, we will find him or, if we are too late, we will find the kinslayer and make sure he pays for his deeds.'

'Yet vengeance does not bring a life back. I was wondering, could it be possible that the twins know the way? They are the only ones that have been in the cave and walked the route.'

'Elladan maybe, but Elrohir can hardly walk and he still has no memories, he _needs_ Elladan, he feels safe around his twin.'

'It will only be for a few hours, the prince' life may depends on it!'

'And what if Elladan would fail to lead you to him! I don't want my son to walk with guilt because he couldn't find the way!'

'And what if does find the way! Elrond, WE cannot find Legolas, maybe Elladan can.'

With a sigh Elrond gave in. 'Okay, but ask Elladan first.'

…

The flickering lights of the torches made the cave look more spookier than ever, thought Elladan, the silent footsteps of the elves made it only worse. Without much success he tried to distract himself from the moving shadows on the cave wall. They passed another side tunnel and Elladan stopped for a moment, trying to recall the way, until now he had been reasonably certain of their direction but he was starting to doubt. 'I think we went that way, but I'm not sure anymore..'

Glorfindel laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. 'Then we shall go that way. You have not lead us wrong yet, we even saw some footprints a few minutes ago, you are doing well. We have never been this far.'

They all froze when they heard a soft noise in the side tunnel, like something was crawling towards them, the sound stopped for a moment, only to continue later. Glorfindel pushed Elladan behind him and drew his weapon. 'Who is there?'

No answer, and the crawling sound continued. With his sword ready Glorfindel stepped into the passage, motioning for the other elves to stay. 'Who is there? Speak!'

'Ada?' a tiny voice from the dark spoke up, not harder than the merest whisper. Glorfindel froze for a moment before he took a few big strides to the sound. 'Legolas, Legolas is that you?'

It was. Huddled against the wall sat the elfling, dirt, blood and sweat covered his body and he was shivering from the cold. His eyes seemed too bright and no recognition was in them. His hoarse voice cracked while he crawled backwards. 'No- No! No one here! Not- not here.. Can't s-see me.. Ada? A-ada, you there? No one h-here, No one..'

Glorfindel's brow frowned in concern, and he quickly bent down to pick up and carry the elfling. Legolas froze before he started to thrash wildly and scream for his father. The noise attracted the other warriors and soon they formed a tight knot around Glorfindel and Legolas, making sure that the prince could not run away in his fevered delusion. Glorfindel had his arms now firmly wrapped around Legolas although the elfling didn't stop struggling his cries became less.

One of the warriors stepped forwards, 'My lord, I have some skills at healing, may I take a look at the prince?'

Still distracted by the elfling in his arms Glorfindel didn't answer right away. When the warrior pressed again he briefly lifted his head. 'We should not linger here. We have some medical supplies but not enough. Our first priority was finding the prince and taking him to Lord Elrond. We have not even enough light to treat the prince, let us make haste to the camp.'

Legolas tried to escape twice, before he became too weak to resist and became unconscious, a collected breath of relief escaped the lips of the warriors, the elfling was obviously in pain and he was only weakening himself further, it was better this way.

The elves ran almost the whole way back and even Elladan could keep up with the long-legged adults, so intend was he on reaching the camp and his father. When they finally ran out the cave the light blinded his eyes but he did not stop running. Without waiting he moved to the tent where his twin was.

Elrond and Elrohir both looked up when the eldest twin stormed in. 'Ada! We've found him!'

A moment later Glorfindel, too, stormed into the tent, still carrying Legolas. 'He has a fever and is dehydrated. He did not recognise us and struggled almost the entire way.'

They laid the elfling on the other bed and started treating him. Meanwhile Elladan sat next to Elrohir on his bed. 'Where were you? I thought you had left me…'

Elladan embraced his twin quickly. 'I would _never_ leave you! How could you think that! I thought people would tell you where I was?'

'They did but I didn't believe them.. But Ada stayed with me the whole time so I wasn't very lonely. He tried to make me remember things.'

'And? Did you remember things?'

'I surely did! You stole Tanya!'

Tanya was a plush dragon that Elrohir had gotten for his tenth begetting day (four year in human standard), Elladan was given a plush wolf. The small Elladan became jealous because dragons were obviously much more dangerous than wolves. So, when Elrohir was busy playing with his wooden warriors, he had stolen the plush dragon and hidden it in his closet.

'That was ninety years ago!'

'Well, I remembered it today! I want Tanya back!'

'He is not here. You left him at home!'

'No true! You stole him and never gave him back!'

'Did not!'

'Did too!'

'Did not!'

'Did too!'

'Did n-'

'ELLADAN AND ELROHIR!' Suddenly Glorfindel stood before them. 'I cannot believe it! Your friend needs peace and quiet and you are arguing? Shame on you!'

'But he-'

'El said-'

'I heard you perfectly and I tell you to stay quiet! Your father is not yet done treating the prince, you wouldn't want to disturb him, would you?'

'No, Glorfindel.' The twins chorused meekly. Elrohir sagged back against the pillow and his eyes started to glaze over. Elladan whispered 'I'm sorry' in Elrohir's ears before he, too, fell asleep.

…**.**

**Firstly, I want to say that I'm sorry it took so long. I had planned to update a few weeks ago. I had a last-minute vacation with a friend, then my room got painted and, then the internet decided to quit! Luckily my computer is acting normally again. (more or less) so you can expect the next chapter over a week (give or take a few days)**

**Wow! Never had so many reviews for one chapter! Thank you **_**LeoLuin, Issy, Lazy Gaga, Kira **_**and** _**Rachielle**_**! I hope you all liked this chapter too! And sorry again for the long delay.**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Meetings in grief**_

_**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**_

_**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**_

_**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**_

…**.**

Legolas was vaguely aware of voices, and hands touching him. A part of his mind screamed that he should move, that he should not let anyone close to him. But a greater part did not want to move, he felt safe here and warm, why would he try to move away from that?

On the other hand, maybe he should move. If it was not safe here, as a small part of his mind seemed to think, he really should leave. Occupied with the argument going on in his own head Legolas did not realise that the voices had fallen silent, except for one.

'Stand back, I think he is waking.'

The voice triggered a stream of memories and Legolas stiffened slightly when the last thing he could remember was being hold, against his will, and carried away. With a gasp he opened his eyes and sat up, only to sink back when pain flared up in his whole body. Hands caught him and lowered him back on the bed. 'Easy, you are safe.'

Legolas recognised the voice and he relaxed back in the pillows. Lord Elrond gave him a goblet water but to the prince' shame he couldn't move his arms to hold the goblet. Elrond saw his embarrassment and sent the others away with a vague wave. Then he brought the water to Legolas' lips and let him drink.

'How do you feel Legolas?' Lord Elrond asked. 'You gave us quit a scare, we thought you were bound for the halls of Mandos.'

Legolas dipped his head slightly in respect. 'I've heard your reputation as a healer and presume that I own my life to it. Thank you, My lord. How can I ever repay this debt?'

'There is no need to thank me. Your recovery is payment enough. I would like to know how you feel, are you feeling any pain or dizziness?'

'My physical condition does not matter. I have to go home, to my father! May I take a horse? I have to leave as soon as possible.'

Legolas tried again to sit up, but Elrond restrained him with one hand on the prince' shoulder. Legolas was irritated that he was too weak to swat Elrond's hand away. 'You are going nowhere in the immediate future. You are badly wounded and in pain, don't try to deny it. We shall, however, go to your father's halls but you will be carried on a litter.'

'Lord Elrond! I cannot enter the kingdom helpless like an infant! I am a prince, I must not radiate weakness!'

'Laying on a litter while severely injured is not 'radiating weakness' it is radiating common sense, something that every prince should have.'

'I am not severely injured! Merely a little bruised.'

Elrond's eyebrows climbed almost to his hairline and he almost snorted. Here lay the stubborn prince, not even strong enough to hold a goblet, insisting that he could ride home and was merely a little bruised. It took a few moments for Elrond to find his voice. 'I would not describe it as 'a little bruised,' you need rest and you are not to walk until I say so. Now, let me examine your wounds before I let the twins in. You had us all very worried.'

It took some time before Elrond re-bandaged the last wound, trying to be as gentle as he could but he still felt Legolas stiffen when the bandage touched his skin. He glanced worriedly to Legolas too pale face, wondering again why the elf didn't want to take the painkiller he had prepared. Maybe the prince thought it was 'showing weakness.' He would have a chat with Thranduil about who would put such nonsense in a child's head.

'It is done, shall I go fetch the twins?'

He waited patiently until Legolas had recovered enough to nod slightly. A moment later the twins walked in. Standing by the bed as if even their breath could hurt Legolas. Elrond had already explained what had happened with Elrohir so Legolas was not surprised to see Elrohir looking puzzled. With a weak smile he said; 'Hello Elladan, Elrohir.'

Elladan gave a brilliant smile back. 'Hello Legolas. How are you? You did not wake for three days after we found you! And your eyes were closed whole the time, it was quit scary.'

Elrohir nodded viciously, 'Aye, I've never seen an elf sleeping with his eyes close. Or at least I can't remember it.'

Legolas closed his eyes briefly, leaving the twins to wonder if had even heard what they had said. Their suspicion was confirmed when Legolas' eyes suddenly flew open and he asked: 'Did you say anything?'

Elladan sat down on the bed while replaying. 'It does not matter. However, I am full of questions. You are from Mirkwood, right? That means you are a wood elf. I've never actually met one, except for some messengers but they didn't talk to me. What is your home like? We are heading there anyway.'

Legolas brightened considerably and started to tell about his father and Mirkwood, or Greenwood as he still called it. They listened patiently to the tale but were quickly distracted because Legolas had started to describe every tree in Mirkwood, and although they loved the nature they weren't _that_ interested in it.

'And I must not forget the beech trees! Their songs are beautiful! Because the trees are so close to the waterfalls you can actually _hear _the water through the leaves. And their length! Believe me: You would never call another tree big after you have seen Greenwood's beeches!'

Elrohir had decided that he had heard enough about the trees and broke in. 'That sounds great, Legolas, but pray tell us some more about the people in your woods, it is not we are not interested in the trees but I would like to hear about your family. You have already told us much about your father, why don't you tell us about your mother?'

A shocked silence followed his question, Elrohir, sensing that he had said something wrong, started to apologize. He looked uncertainly to Elladan. Elladan sighed before he answered Elrohir's unspoken question. 'His mother died a few weeks ago. She was murdered while Legolas was forced to watch.'

Elrohir apologised again but Legolas interrupted him and asked about his memories. Elladan grabbed the change to escape the uneasy situation and jumped into a full account about Elrohir's regained memories.

He and his father were both very pleased with the progress. Elrohir could already remember 70 years of his life although there were still some gaps every now and then. Elrohir had fallen silent until suddenly a smile lid his face. 'Legolas, I know that it can never replace your loss but you are free to visit Imladris anytime. I am sure you have met Naneth the last time you were at our home and I can tell you that she would treat you like a son. Right Elladan?'

Elladan had paled considerably and a painful silence filled the tent once again. almost afraid to ask Elrohir continued. 'Right Elladan, wouldn't she? Legolas, you have met her, you would know it! I bet she already accepted you as a third son. Am I right?'

Legolas looked with pity in his eyes to Elrohir. Elladan bowed his head. 'Dan? Legolas? What is wrong? You know Naneth don't you?'

Elladan laid his hand on Elrohir's shoulder. 'Ro, I- We should have told you but- but nana, she…' His sentence ended in a sob while a panicked Elrohir swiftly hugged him before turning to Legolas. The prince said quietly. 'Your Naneth has sailed, after an orc-attack. I am very sorry.'

'NO! You are lying! 'Dan, tell him! Nana is home!'

Elladan looked with tear-stained eyes to his twin. 'He is telling the truth. I am sorry but nana is… she is gone.'

'No! NO! Liars!' With tears in his eyes Elrohir stood up and ran away. Elladan leaped up to but stayed for a moment in the entrance, looking back to Legolas. After a brief 'go' he ran after his twin.

Erestor saw Elrohir running out the tent and he hurried to the younger twin, afraid that something was wrong with Legolas. 'Elrohir! Is something wrong with Legolas? Is he in need of a healer?'

When he saw the tears in Elrohir's eyes he feared the worst and at that moment Elladan ran out the tent. His gaze was fixed on his brother's back. 'Elladan! What is wrong! Does Legolas need a healer?'

Elladan shook his head but he did not watch were he ran, so transfixed he was on his twin, and he tripped. Erestor grabbed him before the twin crashed into the ground. 'Easy, Penneth. What has upset you and your brother so?'

The advisor noticed that Elladan shook with silent sobs and he hugged the twin. Muttering non-existing words of comfort he hold the twin until the sobbing gradually lessened. 'What is it. Is something wrong?'

After a few tries Elladan managed to tell Erestor what had just happened in the tent. Erestor hugged the twin again before speaking. 'Elrohir is running towards your father and Glorfindel, they will calm him. Shall we return to Legolas, I am sure the prince wants to know what happened.

Elladan agreed and they both made their way to the tent.

…

Elrond and Glorfindel were discussing how they could get to Mirkwood the soonest when suddenly Elrohir ran towards him. He had tears streaming down his cheeks and literally threw himself in his father's arms. Elrond quickly scooped his boy up, although Elrohir was almost as high as himself, and stroke his head. 'Shh, what is wrong? You can tell me.'

Elrohir chocked out, between his sobs. 'Elladan and Legolas are lying! They said- They.. And they didn't wanted to answer my question and I really want the answer and… and.. and'

Elrond frowned in displeasure, wondering what lie would have caused to react Elrohir like this and planning to have a firm word with the prince and his other son. 'Ask your question, Ion nin. I will answer it for you.'

Elrohir doubted for a moment, as if he was afraid of the answer before he asked. 'Ada, where is nana?'

…

**Another chapter done! School has started again and I am surprised I actually managed to write this. Thank you for your review **_**Leoluin, ElvesAreEpic, Rachielle, Lazy Gaga **_**and **_**Issy! **_**I loved reading your reviews!**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Meetings in grief**_

_**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**_

_**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**_

_**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**_

_…_

_Elrond took a deep breath and pushed the tears that filled his eyes away. He looked with sorrow in his gaze at his youngest son. Glorfindel had left silently, feeling this was a private moment between father and son. Elrohir continued to watch his father with pleading eyes, somewhere he already knew Elladan and Legolas had told the truth but his mind refused to accept it. His hope was crushed when he saw the tears in his father's eyes. His ada wasn't supposed to cry, he never did. Even with only half of his memory intact he already knew this fact. Fathers just didn't cry, never. _

'My son, as much as I wish to tell you your mother is safe at home, I fear that I cannot. Your mother is away, she has left middle-earth, never to return, and is now dwelling in the undying lands.'

Elrohir's knees suddenly buckled, causing him to fall on the ground and with him Elrond, who was still holding Elrohir. Instead of getting up again Elrond merely embraced his son and hold him while the tears streamed down his cheek. They sat on the ground for a very long time, Elrohir was sobbing in his father's tunic and he felt Elrond's tears fall in his hair. With tears still in his eyes Elrohir looked up at his father. 'Why? Why did Nana go? She.. She promised never to leave… '

_The thirty year old twins were silent when they returned with their father from a ranger's village. When the horses arrived at the courtyard Celebrían walked forward, concern in her eyes. Behind her Glorfindel was holding the toddler Arwen, who was sleeping contently. _

_Elrond quickly embraced his wife before helping the twins off the horses. The fact that they were silently waiting for their father to help them instead of trying to dismount the great horse themselves worried their mother. She crouched down so she could look in their eyes and evolved them in a gentle hug. 'My sons, how was your trip?'_

_Again their reaction surprised Celebrían. Normally they would tell her all about all the big and small things they had seen, now they simply snuggled closer to their mother, not letting go even while she tried to stand up. She gently pried their fingers from her dress and said; 'My sons, let's go inside. We have made honey cakes, especially for you.'_

_Two dark heads nodded and followed their mother inside, still not talking. Celebrían shot a concerned look at her husband, he shot her a reassuring smile before turning to the twins and trying to convince them to take a bath. Glorfindel walked over and handed the still-sleeping Arwen to her mother. Then he turned to the twins and with his help Elrond was able to persuade them to leave their mother for a moment. When Glorfindel and the twins were away Celebrían turned to her husband. He answered her unspoken question. 'They had befriended a human boy, his name was Abrazîr. The three of them roamed through the village and it was many a time that we couldn't find them after the dark. You understand that I and the soldiers with me, have searched the city very often to find them. Abrazîr's mother was pregnant, we do not know exactly what happened but somehow the birth went wrong. The child was born dead and Abrazîr's mother died shortly after the delivery. It shocked the twins greatly, that is the reason I decided to come home earlier. Your sons feared for you.'_

_Celebrían sighed. 'Many times I have wondered if we should allow our children to meet mortals. I was always afraid that they would feel great sorrow when their mortal friend would grow up and die long before they themselves even reach adulthood. This confirmed the fears of my hearth yet in my mind I knew that someday the twins would be confronted with mortality. I wonder if we have done well to confront them so soon.'_

'_They are partly mortal and they begged to go to the village even after Erestor had explained them about death and mortals. I do not know if we made the right choice but we cannot restore it. Learning about mortality is different than actually witness it. It would have been sooner or later and to wish it was later is foolish hope now. Let us just make the best of it.'_

_Elrond and Celebrían sat before the fire when the twins arrived again, their night-clots already on. They hurried to their mother and snuggled closely against her. After a while Elladan looked up. 'Nana, will you die like Abrazîr's mother?'_

_Celebrían answered with a loving smile. 'No, my dear. I will not die.'_

_Elrohir asked. 'Promise you will never leave us?'_

_Celebrían smiled. 'I promise never to leave you, I will always be with you.'_

Elrond stroked his son's hair. 'She is still with you, in your hearth and in your mind. She will never leave us and she will be waiting on the other side of the sea when it is our time to go.'

Elrohir looked grateful to his father. 'You are right, Nana is with me. Thanks.'

Elrond stood up and offered Elrohir a hand. 'No need to thank me, I did what every parent should do. What I should have done the moment I heard of your mothers decision. I am sorry I locked myself away when you needed me.'

Although Elrohir could not remember the events his father spoke about he said nonetheless. 'There is nothing to forgive.'

Together they walked back to the camp.

…

Legolas was laying on his bed, again. Waiting for someone who could help him to eat, or more precisely, to feed him. It angered him he had not enough control of his body to pick anything up or to simply _do_ something. He was getting sick of it. It had been a day and a half since he had woken and he already started to hate the situation he was in.

This morning Lord Elrond had checked his wounds again. They were healing nicely although it would take at least a week of lying flat before he could even think of moving again. After lord Elrond had removed the bandages the healer had said that he needed a bath. Legolas was quick to agree, mud and dust was still clinging to him and his once golden hair was now a muddied brown. What the prince did not think about was the fact that he couldn't bathe himself yet. It had taken Elrond almost half an hour to persuade the prince to let the healer bathe him.

It all had done little good for Legolas' mood. After their father had left the twins had visited him, they quickly came to blows when Legolas already damaged pride flare up after a seemingly innocent remark from the older twin. The rest of the day they had let him alone, probably to cool down.

He knew it was lunch because of the angle of the sun he could see even through tent. He was actually also a bit hungry but he couldn't submit to the idea of anybody feeding him, it was just so humiliating!

Someone opened the tent and bright light flowed in. After Legolas' eyes had adjusted to the light he saw Elrond coming towards him, a tray in his hand. 'Hello, Prince Legolas. I've come to bring your lunch. Shall I help you sit up?'

Without waiting for an answer Elrond pulled some pillows up and then grasped the prince under his arms. He counted aloud to three, giving Legolas the time to prepare himself for the pain that moving caused. The prince tensed and all colour left his face when Elrond gently dragged him up and he sat for a moment motionless, except for his heavy breathing. After the prince had regained his posture Elrond gave him a spoonful soup.

Legolas felt his cheeks burn and looked at everything but Elrond. He could feel lord Elrond's eyes boring into him but he did not meet them. He was surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he stiffened slightly, before forcing himself to relax again. It was just lord Elrond, he was safe.

Lord Elrond looked concerned when he felt Legolas stiffen underneath his hand, after a few seconds the elf started to relax himself again but not all the tension was out his body. Elrond looked to the prince's face again, willing him to look him into the eyes. When Legolas didn't raise his head Elrond said softly. 'Legolas, look at me.'

Bright blue eyes watched him for a few seconds before they were lowered again. This time Elrond had his hand under Legolas chin and forced him gently to look up. The bright blue eyes were almost completely empty, a blank mask on the surface yet just a little below he saw something shimmer. Elrond concentrated on it and then he saw it. Underneath the seemingly empty eyes he could see all kinds of feelings, anger, shame, sadness , grief and something a bit harder to determine.

Legolas lowered his eyes again, this time with a faint blush, embarrassed that the elf lord could so quickly see the emotions he wanted to keep hidden. The silence in the tent grew while Elrond was pondering over what he just had seen and Legolas was waiting for the elder elf to say something. When it didn't happen Legolas asked. 'My lord?' Elrond's piercing eyes came to rest on his face again, making Legolas whishing he had kept his silence. 'I- I was wondering… when I can leave. My father must be warned, a traitor so close… it is very dangerous. What if Angasicil decides to go to Greenwood. The king could be in serious danger!'

Elrond nodded before replying. 'WE will travel to Mir- Greenwood in less than a week.'

Legolas did not seem completely satisfied with that answer. 'A week? We can surely travel earlier can't we? I am well enough to ride now, even with the slight injury I have. I've ridden injured before.'

Elrond raised his brows on this piece of news, was the situation in Mirkwood really so bad that they would sent elflings to fight? 'You have? When?'

'I was carrying a message to one of the patrol… it was shortly after I came of age. I reached the patrol and gave them the letter when we were attacked. I had no other choice than to fight, the orcs were to many for us so we called the horses and fled. Unfortunately the orcs had already managed to wound many and even kill one. We raced through the forest to another patrol, for we knew that they would hear us and since that patrol was greater than ours it could also defeat the orcs.'

'You were one of the injured?'

'Yes, it was not much but my father did not let me out of his sight for nearly a fortnight.'

'Where were you injured?'

'I had an arrow in my left shoulder. It was not that bad! The healers were just overestimating.'

Elrond continued the interview with a knowing smile. 'An orc-arrow? Are they not often poisoned?'

It was clear to the healer that Legolas was feeling slightly uncomfortable and the somewhat shamed look on his face confirmed Elrond's suspicion. The prince replied. 'The healers said it was, but you now know that I am capable of riding even while injured, so I do not need a litter and we can depart tomorrow morning, if that's fine with you, my lord?'

Elrond tried to stifle a groan, it was clear that Thranduil had given Legolas the best education and that the prince would become a great diplomat, given time. Luckily he was not for nought called Elrond the wise and he was an even better diplomat. 'An arrow is you shoulder, poisoned or no, is different. Every injury heals his own way. You had no choice but to flee then. Now, however, you have a healer with you. And this healer says that we depart over a week and you _will_ travel on a litter.'

Legolas started to protest but a look from Elrond let the words die on his lips. He refused to look at the elf lord and stared instead to the closed tent opening. He was surprised when he heard Elrond's next words. 'Legolas, I know this is hard for you, it is horrible to not have control over your own body, but bear it please. I am here to make you better. We all are. I worked hard to save your life. For three days you lay unconscious. I know you think it is humiliating to let others do things for you but we do it happily, if that makes you better. You are in pain and don't try to deny it. It is not shameful to give in to your body's demands every now and then. Let me prepare a painkiller, it will help you.'

After a slight hesitation Legolas nodded. He did not protest when Elrond brought the goblet to his lips and he drank quickly. Elrond waited until the drug worked, unbeknownst to the prince he had also put a slight sleeping drug in the painkiller. When he was sure the prince was asleep he tucked him in and watched the young elfling sleep.

…

**Chapter 14= Done! This update was a week later than planned. I'm afraid that is going to happen more often… I will try to update every week but I'm afraid it will not always go. So don't be surprised if you have to wait two weeks… I'm sorry but I simply have not enough time anymore :(**

_**Rachielle, Leoluin, Issy **_**and **_**MDarKspIrIt: **_**Thanks for your reviews! I'm glad you like this chapter and I hope you liked the way Elrond explained Elrohir about his Naneth. I hope to see another review of you… Please ;D? **


	15. Chapter 15

_**Meetings in grief**_

_**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**_

_**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**_

_**Legolas/Vanlach is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**_

…

They had started their journey two days, Legolas was being carried on a litter in spite of his vehement protests. Although he would never admit it he was actually rather relieved that he was being carried, every movement of the litter hurt him, and he wouldn't even imagine how he would feel on a horse. Elladan and Elrohir were riding with Glorfindel and lord Elrond. They, too, had protested about 'riding in front of a warrior like some kind of baby' as they had put it. Lord Elrond had put a stop at their protest, saying that there were simply not enough horses and that they were the lightest.

Legolas groaned when the litter shook a little, he wanted this journey to be over. He wanted to be home but yet, some part of him didn't. He had, after all, disobeyed his father. Not only did everyone know that he was prince Legolas of the woodland realm because he blew his cover, but he had also ran away from the safety from Imladris, bringing not only him, but also the twins in danger. How longer he thought about that fact how guiltier he felt. He was also afraid that his father would blame him.

Turning his thought to his father he wondered what he would find when they entered Greenwood. He was the last to deny that his father had changed, instead of keeping the evenings free to spent with his family (which now only consisted of himself and his son) the king would work until he fell asleep, only coming to his son when Legolas had had a nightmare about that horrible day and, although he tried not to show it, Thranduil was becoming irritated with his son, or that was what Legolas thought. The truth, namely that Thranduil felt guilty about not protecting his son and wife, and was suffering from a lack of sleep, had not yet arisen in Legolas' mind.

While the young elf was pondering over this he was not aware he was being watched by Elrond. The elf lord was, also, thinking. He knew that Legolas was in pain but the stubborn elfling had refused any painkillers and Elrond could not force him to swallow them. Well, theoretically he could, but that would only have negative consequences. The elfling would never trust him again and that was the exact opposite of what he wanted. It concerned him how Legolas stiffened every time someone came too close and he was also afraid, although the elfling tried to disguise it.

He really shouldn't be surprised, after what had happened to the prince yet he still found it disturbing. Even though Legolas acted like an adult and was treated like an adult in Mirkwood he still was a child. And the world would truly be a horrible place when the children were afraid of those who wanted to offer help.

He was woken up from his thoughts by Glorfindel. 'My lord, the scouts have seen the forest, we will reach it in an hour.'

Elladan, who was riding with Glorfindel, took the opportunity to speak with his twin. Soon they were in an animated conversation about which technique was the best when fighting orcs.

The company rode on and soon they stood under the great trees of Mirkwood. The dark forest took any willingness to chat away. In silence they rode on, alert for any danger. A soft rustling was all the warning they had before ten warriors jumped from the trees, surrounding them at once. What was more troublesome was the fact that each of the warriors had arrows drawn and nocked at the heads of the party. 'Who is trespassing the realm of king Thranduil?'

It was a surprise when they suddenly heard an answer coming from the litter. 'Put those arrows away or do you not recognize Lord Elrond of Imladris?'

In a few seconds the warriors had relaxed their arms and put their arrows back in their quivers. The one that had spoken before said, 'Prince Legolas! I am sorry, we indeed did not recognize them. Should we escort you to the halls? the king had said to expect you, since he had sent the fastest messenger in all the elven realms, my brother Malkarion.'

Legolas, who was now sitting on his litter, something that did not please Elrond in the least, swallowed and looked down. 'Cruel fate it is that we encounter you here and not in the halls, surrounded by your friends and family. It is with the deepest regret I have to inform you that Malkarion shall not return to this forest. His body has been brought to Imladris.'

Cries of dismay rose to the trees. 'No! Not my brother, who was it that cowardly ended his life?! Was it orcs or men or something else?'

'It was the lowest thing possible: a traitor, one whom we all trusted! Black was the day that he executed his plans and red will be the day when we find him!'

Roused by the words of their prince all the warriors cried their agreement and soon they led the Imladris elves to their camp, so that they could be informed immediately. Messengers were sent out to Malkarion's parents and his brother went with them.

All the Mirkwood elves burst with anger when Elrond, Glorfindel, Erestor, Elladan, Elrohir and Legolas told the tale of Angasicil's treachery. 'He escaped?! Nay, cruel fate indeed! We shall hunt him and drag him back to the king! He deserves worse than dead for what he has done.'

Another warrior, whom Legolas had introduced as Golben, sighed. 'Wish that we had discovered it before, much death and grief could have been prevented. Yet we cannot ride out now to confront him with his deeds. I suggest we go to the halls with the greatest haste, the prince is not well -don't try to deny it, penneth- and he needs a bed and a healer. If we go now we have enough time before the stars appear.'

Erestor inclined his head. 'Well spoken indeed. Let us go then. Much I have heard about the great halls of king Thranduil but never have I seen them myself. It is said they rival Menegroth, the great palace of Doriath.'

Golben nodded. 'They do indeed. I've seen both and I still can't choose which is more grant.' Turning to Legolas he continued; 'Prince Legolas, how do you feel? You look pale and you surely shouldn't be standing. Are there not some painkillers you can take to lighten your plight?'

To the surprise of all Legolas gave a small nod before asking for the painkillers. Under the watchful eyes of Golben he took them without protests. Soon they were riding again and this time Legolas was not bothered by the slight jostling of the litter.

Elrond and Golben were in the rear, both watching the litter, after a time of silence Elrond asked: 'The prince must respect you greatly. I've tried to give him painkillers but he simply refused to take them. How is it that he does obey you?'

'I've been his tutor since he was born. I've taught him how to read, to write, to shoot and to fight. He truly it a gifted elf and it breaks my heart to see him so sad. One of the reasons I joined this patrol was the fact that he would likely arrive here again. You cannot imagine how stressed I was when he was gone. Young Thranduil is still avoiding me since he gave me the news.'

'You truly must be old then, if you call king Thranduil young and have seen Menegroth.'

'Aye. I could call everyone in this company young, except for lord Glorfindel. I was there when king Thingol, then called Elwë, disappeared in Nan Elmoth. I have laid eye on his daughter, Luthien Tinuviel. Yet I've also seen elf fight elf and heart-breaking betrayal. Long have I walked this earth yet I shall stay until I've taught Legolas all I want him to know. Then I shall make my last journey to the havens and I shall finally see Valinor.'

'You stay for Legolas? You must love my greatly.'

'Aye, as the son I never had. When I first laid eyes on him I knew I would stay. I said to myself: "at least until he has come of age." Now he has come of age but I still feel not ready to depart.'

'Maybe he has come of age, but he is not yet an adult. I know he is treated like one but I fail to see him other than an elfling.'

Golben sank into thoughts and they didn't speak for the rest of the journey.

…

The warriors had ridden for quite some time when it happened. A scout galloped back to the group, 'Spiders! Spiders have passed the forest river! Hundreds of them, we cannot avoid them!'

All the Mirkwood warriors looked at Legolas expectantly, he did not disappoint them. 'Form lines! Pair every inexperience with an experience warrior! Stay on your horses, if you find the opportunity to avoid the spiders and slip away, then go! Warn my father!'

Without question the warriors did as he said. Others gave him a horse, so he could flee too, if the time arose. It was not long before they heard the hissing and clicking of the spiders. One of the youngest warriors said; 'It are at least three hundred! How can we fight such a force?'

Not much was spoken after that. In a confusing blur of spider legs, webs and clicking jaws, the spider attacked.

Almost immediately Elrond's horse reared up. Not expecting this, Elrond and Elrohir fell of the horse. It was a hard landing but luckily Elrohir had broken nothing. His eyes searched for his father. Elrond was pushing himself from the ground, holding his left arm. He noticed Elrohir and cried. 'To the middle, go to Legolas!'

Elrohir froze before bolting towards the litter. He was almost there when suddenly, seemingly out of the air, a spider landed before him. He had run so hard he couldn't stop himself now and he crashed into the spider. It was when he looked into his own reflection in the eight eyes that he thought '_it is over.'_

A white horse jumped over him, right into the spider. The rider's sword buried itself deep in the spider. 'Elrohir, stand up and run!'

The battle went ill for the elves, the horses were running away from the danger, leaving everyone on foot and with a great disadvantage.

Arms were lifting him from the ground and for a moment Elrohir looked into the eyes of his twin. Then they both ran towards Legolas.

Without further incident they reached the litter. Legolas was already trying to stand, his hand clutching a dagger, his only weapon at the moment. Without words the twins laid his arms around their shoulders and half-carried him away. 'Which way to your father's halls?'

The elflings ran until the sun had disappeared and the forest was clothed in utter darkness.

Meanwhile the camp was in total chaos, some warriors saw the elflings leave and followed them, others formed a circle around lord Elrond, but most lay on the ground, wounded or already dead. Suddenly Elrond saw an opening, 'Warriors to the right!'

Without looking back the remaining warriors ran in that direction, some fell in the sticky webs of the spiders but nonetheless screamed for the others to run. The elves ran on top speed through the forest yet in their flight no one noticed exactly _where_ they were going. When they finally stopped it was already too late. 'Where are we?'

The Mirkwood warriors stiffened and Golben answered the question. 'We are close to Dol Guldur, in the most southern parts of the forest. We have to move north as soon as possible. Are there any wounded?'

Almost no one was not wounded and they were forced to make camp under the dark trees. One of the scouts told the others he would get some water, the last thing they heard from him was a piercing scream. Two warriors jumped up and wanted to go to the sound when Golben stopped them. 'The spiders are still here. Stay in the group, safety comes in numbers.'

…

Legolas, Elrohir and Elladan had stopped walking a long time ago, too exhausted to even move they were all half-asleep, although they tried to stay awake. It was thus that the other warriors found them. The three of them stood guard while the elflings slept.

The next morning Legolas woke up and spoke to the warriors. 'You made it too? What happened to the others?'

The closest warriors answered. 'We do not know, the last time we saw them most were still healthy.'

The six were soon discussing the plans. The young elves, Badrandir, Iarphen and Mithrildor, decided that they would go to the halls and hope that the others had made it.

The sun was hidden behind the clouds and the trees blocked almost all the daylight. 'Mirkwood is a creepy place.' Elladan concluded.

'_Greenwood_ it not a creepy place. You just don't know it well enough.'

Elladan looked sceptically at Legolas' reply. 'So you don't think this is creepy? We can barely see the sun and don't tell me you like being attacked by spiders!'

'It was bad luck,' Legolas stubbornly replied. 'The spiders do not normally attack a group as great as ours. Maybe they were driven to the paths by the orcs?'

Triumphantly Elladan answered: 'O, I understand. This is not a creepy place because the orcs have driven away the spiders. Stupid of me, I hadn't thought about the fact that orcs make woods so cosy even though they sometimes create problems, like the spiders!'

Legolas opened his mouth to say something when they heard a cry from behind them. They all turned, just in time to see Iarphen disappearing in one of the many trees, his foot stuck in a spider's web.

Behind them they heard the spiders but the animals were this time satisfied with just one. Elrohir swallowed. 'We are a prey in the predators terrain, they can pick us off one by one.'

'We can do nothing but continue and stay together. Iarphen was walking a bit behind us, we have to stay together all the time. Elladan, Elrohir and Mithrildor, you three must watch out for each other. I and Badrandir will do the same. I and Mithrildor know the spiders better then you do. Let us be off and hope that we will be spared.'

…

**FINALLY! I'm sorry it took so long… every time I sat down and write something seemed to happen, thanks for the reviews **_**Rachielle, Leoluin, MDarKspIrIt, Lazy Gaga **_**and **_**Kasumi.**_

**I hope I can update earlier the next time... **


	16. Chapter 16

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**

**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**

**Legolas is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**

…

The moon was high in the sky but none of the elves could find the peace they normally got from the stars and moon. They had tried to go back to the north, but their paths were blocked by webs. The spiders were getting bolder, elves who strayed just a few steps from the main group became targets. Although the elves had managed to kill a good number they were running out of arrows.

Their group had gone from eleven to seven in a very short time. With Elrond stomping somewhere in the middle, being forced to walk there by Glorfindel and Erestor since it was the safest place. When he had complained, stating that he would _not_ let others be in danger to protect him, the advisors had simply glared at him, grabbed him by his elbows and _dragged_ him to the middle. The guards had immediately formed a tight circle around him, so he could not go back to his former place.

Somewhere in this forest were his sons and the crown prince of Mirkwood. _Or the spiders have already got them and they are lying dead on the leaves, bloodied limps, eyes open, not breathing, deadly pale.. having died without someone to comfort them, their last thought about the spiders._ Elrond resolutely shook his head, he should not think like that. _But what if…_

'I do not like this at all… It seems that we are driven forwards by the spiders.' Glorfindel muttered, casting a dark look at the dark leaves above their heads. 'I have heard stories about the intelligence of the great spider but never had I know they would be as smart as this, or as bold to attack a full armed company.'

'The creatures of the dark are ever becoming smarter, we tried to stop it many times but to no avail. There are always too little warrior and too much enemies. And seemingly that isn't enough! Now we were also betrayed from the inside! If we cannot find a solution to these problems very soon, Mirkwood will break.' Golben said. 'betrayal could not have chosen a worse day to stir it's ugly head.'

'Betrayal always chooses the worst time. Let us hope not all is lost yet.' Glorfindel answered.

…

Another arrow found its way into a spider's eye. It fell dead and joined the others. 'I think that was the last.' Panted Elrohir. 'Can you see another, Legolas?'

'No, they are all gone, is everyone all right?'

'A bit bruised, but otherwise I'm fine, you Elladan?' Elrohir turned around, searching for his twin. 'Elladan?'

He was nowhere to be seen. 'Elladan! Answer me!'

'ELLADAN!'

…

'We are being driven to their nests! From there on no escape is possible.' Glorfindel observed, casting nervous glances over his shoulders.

'What do you want us to do? We are only with seven, we cannot go another way!' Elrond snapped, irritated.

'This way leads to death only! We have to try!'

'Peace, both of you. This is not the time for arguing.' Golben gave them both a piercing glance. 'We cannot fight the spiders, but neither can we go on.'

'What shall we do then? I have no desire to die and my sons are still out there!'

'We shall hide, that which the spiders can't see, they can't hunt.'

'The spiders are all around us, how can we hide?'

'We are close to the old stronghold of the Silvans, which we made before Oropher came into the woods. The ruins are still standing. We can hide there.'

'Lead the way.'

They walked for a few more hours before arriving, if Golben hadn't pointed the stronghold out, they wouldn't have seen it. Instead of a great stone stronghold the landscape didn't seem to have changed but when they looked very close they could see that some of the biggest trees were in fact made of stone. 'This is amazing! I've never seen such stone craft.' Glorfindel whispered.

'Let's go inside.' They entered one of the 'trees' and were surprised again. weapons were neatly lined up at every possible place. Thousands of arrows, swords, shields and bows were still there. Golben fingered one bow thoughtfully. 'I never knew there still were this many weapons here, the king should be informed. We need every available weapon.'

…

Thranduil was pacing restlessly in his office. His work was, amazingly, all done. With no distraction he was worrying about his son, something was simply wrong. He had heard no word of any travellers and his feeling of dread increased.

He grabbed another glass of wine, trying in vain to relax. With a sigh he exited his office and went to his sleeping quarters. He had tried to avoid going there for long enough. The sleeping room was exactly as he remembered it to be. In a corner stood Legolas' cradle. He and Mirilya had never been able to dispose it. Every time he looked at the cradle he could see a small baby, with a blond wisp of hair on his head. Or a small infant toddling around in the great hall. He remembered with a soft smile how Legolas had once interrupted a very boring council and had brought smiles to all the councillors faces.

With a fond smile he looked around again, stopping by the mirror. A small table was set before it, with all kinds of things on it. He could picture his wife sitting there, doing her hair or dressing. How she would try to tame her wild red locks. It had happened very often that she would fling the comb through the room, exclaiming that 'her stupid hair wouldn't do like she wanted it to do.' It happened often that he would just enter the room and get a comb flung into his face. Thranduil suspected that she sometimes did it deliberately. He remembered the first time he had gotten a comb in his face.

_Prince Thranduil was walking calmly in the woods, happy to be away from the councils. he was thinking how different his life would be if he hadn't been born as the son of Oropher. What if he was born as the son of a forester or a blacksmith? He looked up at some of the cottages, he would then probably live in one of those. An object suddenly appeared from one of the windows, accompanied with an angry cry. _

_He had no time to be puzzled because suddenly the object connected rather forcefully with his head. 'OW!' _

_He looked down to see what had hit him, a comb? He picked it up just as a head appeared above him. 'I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit anyone!'_

_Thranduil looked up, just as the owner of the voice jumped out of the window. A beautiful maiden stood before him, her red hair slightly tangled and with her sleeping clothes still on. 'I am SO sorry! You are bleeding! Please come in. I'm so sorry!'_

_Before Thranduil could understand what was going on he was ushered inside and pushed on a chair. A bit later the maiden leant over him to deb is forehead. He tried to look straight ahead but found out that, with the maiden standing like that, he was staring right into her bosom. With a red head he quickly looked down. 'Here you go. I am so sorry! I really didn't mean to hit you.'_

'_No harm done.' Thranduil smiled. 'But why did you throw your comb away?'_

_She flushed slightly. 'My hair is just impossible, it didn't want to be braided.'_

'_Why would you braid it? Loose hair looks very good on you.' Thranduil felt himself become red again as he heard what he had said. 'I-I mean, not that my opinion matters but I-I just thought that..'_

_An awkward silence followed and suddenly they both were aware of the fact that she was still in her nightclothes. From the outside voices could be heard._

'_My parents!' she whispered. 'Quickly get in here!' She pushed him in her closet. He heard her converse briefly with her parents and hoped fiercely he wouldn't be discovered. What a story that would make! The crown prince, hiding in a closet in a maiden's room!_

_After a small time she opened the door and he crawled out of the closet. 'Maybe you could better take the window.. I wouldn't want to explain to my parents why an ellon stands in my room.'_

'_Yes, of course… But, may I know your name before I go?'_

'_It is Mirilya, and yours?'_

'_Thranduil.'_

_Her eyes grew wide. 'My lord! I am so sorry! How can I- I mean how can I- can I do something to make it right again? I swear I didn't want to hit you, I swear!'_

_Thranduil smiled again, it was a reaction he was used to. 'Please, just Thranduil.'_

_She nodded. 'But is there anything he I can do to make it right, my prince? I mean Prince Thranduil? I mean Thranduil?'_

'_You could go to the ball with me tonight? I-I mean if you can, and want, and..'_

_She smiled happily 'I would love to.'_

_A voice from the other room sounded. 'Mirilya, are you almost done? We have to leave soon!'_

'_Almost!' She cried back. 'You have to go! I will see you tonight!'_

_With a grin Thranduil jumped out of her window. 'I will be waiting under the great beech!'_

He was laughing aloud now, realising that this was the first time he had thought of his wife without feeling the overwhelming need to sit down and cry.

…

'Elrohir! Wait! Elrohir!' He didn't seem to hear Legolas. It took some time before Legolas finally had the chance to stop him. 'Elrohir! Wait for just a moment!'

Fuming Elrohir turned. 'Wait?! My brother is captured by spiders and you want me to wait!?'

'Please, just listen to me!'

'I am listening.'

'We cannot just run into a spiders lair. We would be slaughtered! We must approach it carefully, and use our brains to get Elladan out.'

'You mean you don't want to stop me?'

With a grin Legolas shook his head. 'I would if I had a force big enough, but I haven't. So rather than let you be killed. I am going with you.'

'What would you do then?'

'We should spy on the spiders, and when they are asleep, we will rescue Elladan and get out of there. I know an old place where we can get weapons. It is built by the Silvan elves long before my grandfather arrived here.'

'Well, lead the way!'

…

Elrond was looking through one of the windows when he saw a few persons sneaking to one of the stone trees. With a shock he recognized Elrohir and Legolas. He strained his ears to hear what they were saying.

'Legolas, this is amazing! They look so real.'

'I know, I've heard of them but I've never actually be here. Look, here's a door.'

They disappeared of a little time and came back fully armed. Legolas smiled grimly to Elrohir. 'Let's hunt some spiders!'

Elrond jumped up, grabbing weapons and telling what he had seen at the same time. It was not long before the others had joined them. Unconsciously he repeated Legolas. 'Let's hunt some spiders!'

…

**I am so, so, so sorry for updating so late! It has been so hectic I didn't have the chance to simply sit back and write this chapter… I hope you will all forgive me and a big thank you for waiting so long!**

**Thanks for all the reviews **_**Rachielle, Leoluin, Issy and Kasumi!**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Meetings in grief**_

_**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.**_

_**The twins are 15 year. (about a century)**_

_**Legolas is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)**_

…

'You want us to do WHAT?!'

'It really sounds more complicated that it is! And at least I have a plan.' Legolas answered. 'We cannot confront these spiders head on, there are too many of them.'

'A plan!? You call that a plan?! We could just as well dress up like spiders and try to approach their nest! If that's a plan then I am a black squirrel!'

'It is a perfectly reasonable plan! And it is the only way we can lure the spiders away.'

Elrohir sighed. 'I am probably going to regret this, but I'm in. So… how do you want to capture a spider?'

A moment later Elrohir was sitting again, waiting patiently. If a spider moved towards Legolas, who was somewhere in the trees to his right, he would give a signal. Legolas would throw their self-made net and they would capture the spider. At least, if it all went according to their plan, something that seldom happened. After a few minutes' wait he saw a single spider move away. Quickly he whistled the signal, and waited.

It was very quiet in the woods, Elrohir tried to follow the spider with his ears, but found that an impossible thing to do. _Why did I ever agree to this plan?! Why did I let Legolas capture the spider alone?! Why am I waiting here, while Legolas is probably fighting a spider! How did he persuade me? What exactly had he said? O, yes.. I remember! "I am more familiar with these woods, and know how to handle spiders. You do not. It is better if you stay here and signal me if a spider comes my way." Stars! Why did I agree! I am so going to regret this!_

He heard a soft sound behind him. With a speed he didn't know he possessed he spun around, sword already pointed at his "foe."

'Watch out with that sword, my son. You would not want to hurt someone unnecessary.' Elrohir could only stare, open-mouthed.

'Elrohir, close your mouth. You are letting flies in.' Glorfindel said. That broken the enchantment that had laid itself on Elrohir. 'ADA!' with a cry he flung himself in Elrond's arms. 'How did you find us?'

Elrond, relieved at having at least one son back, smiled before looking around and answering. 'We heard you whistle. You were very luck not to be heard by the spiders!'

Golben stepped forth. 'Where is the prince? I thought you two were together? And why are you close to the spiders lair? It is very dangerous here.'

Elrohir considered his answer carefully. 'Legolas said the signal was too low to be heard by the spiders otherwise I wouldn't have done it. And Legolas is fine, he is just…' _capturing a spider._

Luckily for him he didn't have to answer, for another whistle drew his attention. 'That is Legolas! We should go to him!'

It was indeed Legolas that had whistled, and he glanced up with a smug face. That expression changed instantly when he saw who were with Elrohir. Behind him a spider laid squirming in a net. 'Lord Elrond, Golben! How- When… what are you doing here?'

'The question is, young prince, what are YOU doing?' Golben answered, staring at the trapped spider.

'Ehm… well, Ehm.. it is all part of the plan!'

'What plan?'

Legolas flushed slightly under the stern gaze that Golben directed at him. He looked around the company, searching for some sort of support. When this wasn't forthcoming, he at last looked at Elrohir. 'Elrohir can tell you. He is part of the plan too.'

When they all directed their gaze on Elrohir, he too, became red. He shot Legolas an angry glare while muttering: 'Weweretryingtogetaspidertoge tthemawaytogetElladan.'

Elrond's eyebrows shot up. 'Excuse me?'

'We- we, we captured a spider to lure the others away.' _How could Legolas ever let me agree to this! It sounds even stupider that it is!_

'You were doing WHAT?!' Elrond cried as soon as the sentence left Elrohir's mouth. 'Have you completely lost your mind! How would capturing a spider lure the others away. I have never heard of so much nonsense!'

It was Golben who interrupted Elrond. 'It is actually quit a good plan. Legolas, do you still have your spiderbells?'

'Yes, of course I have them. I was trying to fasten them to the spider before you came, but the creature moved too much.'

Glorfindel came to stand next to Elrond. 'He is not serious, is he? We are not going to put this plan to an action.'

Elrond whispered back: 'I think he is. And I think we are going to put this plan to action, although I am not much happier about it than you are.'

Another Mirkwood warrior stepped forwards. 'I will hold two of his legs. Did you already bind it's jaws?'

Glorfindel said softly. 'It must be the air in this forest that makes one lose his mind. All of the Mirkwood warriors think this is a good idea.'

Erestor joined the conversation. 'I am starting to believe that we are actually going to use the plan, please tell me otherwise!'

'Lord Glorfindel, could you come for a moment, we need someone to hold a few of its legs!'

'I cannot believe this.' The blonde elf-lord said, before kneeling on the ground to take hold of two spider legs.

While Glorfindel and the rest of the warriors were trying to restrain the spider, Elrond asked Elrohir about what happened after they were attacked. By the time Elrohir was done talking Elrond was ready to do almost anything to rescue his other son. 'I knew from the moment I saw you and Legolas that something had happened to him. Now I also understand why you and Legolas did this.'

'DONE!' A shout from Legolas interrupted them. He and the others quickly stepped away from the spider.

Golben quickly took over. 'For those that have been wondering what we were doing, I shall explain it. We have fastened spider bells on one of the spiders. The spiders will believe that anyone who makes that sound is a prey, and they will go straight towards it. This spider will keep running because he too hears the bells. As soon as most of the spiders are hunting there 'prey' we sneak into their lair, free the captured elves, and return to the halls. Any questions?'

It was Glorfindel who said. 'Are you sure this is going to work. There are many spiders, how can you be so sure that they will all join the hunt? I don't want to run into the nest, only to find out we will never leave it again.'

Legolas answered him. 'We do not know why, but the bells create a sound that is almost irresistible to the spiders. They will all join the hunt, except for the very young and the pregnant females.'

After a bit of further debating they cut loose the spider and watched how it scrambled away. Then they all jumped in the trees and waited until the nest was almost completely deserted.

…

Elladan regained consciousness slowly. When he opened his eyes all he could see what white. With a moan he tried to move, only to find that he could not. Something was wrapped around him uncomfortably tight. When he tried to move his head he felt a stinging pain in his neck. He nearly screamed out loud.

He tried to move his hands to his neck, but found them to be stuck. After a futile struggle with the sticky ropes that held him he relaxed, and tried to clear his head.

_Another spider attacked him, he noticed he was cut off from the rest. He tried to cry his brother's name, but he was panting too hard to make scream above the shrieking of the spiders. Suddenly he felt a weight on his back and he fell. A sharp things pricked in his neck, and shortly after it he felt his limbs relaxing, against his will. He was dragged deeper into the forest, and then all went black._

With alarm Elladan let the memories flood back. He was captured by spiders, the large monsters that would eat him for breakfast with little difficulty. Panicked he tried to move again, and he felt more than heard something above him. He tried to hold absolutely still but the creature had already see him move. He felt something prick him in his belly, and against his will he relaxed while everything turned black.'

…

'Now!' Golben's command was followed immediately. Without hesitation the elves ran to the spiders' lair. The trees where full of sticky webs and the elves had to look very carefully where they ran, or they would become trapped. Several white bundles hung from the innermost trees. The elves started to make their way to those when their path was suddenly blocked by a gigantic spider. 'A pregnant female! Hit her belly!'

A hail of arrows proved to be the end of that spider, but several smaller ones had already taken her place. Soon they were too close to use the bow and elf after elf unsheathed their swords, or knives, and tried to hack their way through the spiders. After a few minutes of battle all the attacking spiders were dead. Elrohir and Legolas ran to the right and started opening the bundles. Elrohir was hopeful when he opened the first bundle, because he had seen some dark hair sticking out from it. His hope was quickly shattered when he cut away the strings. The body what that of an half devoured orc. As soon as it's head lost the support of the tightly wrapped webbing it fell down. Elrohir watched with morbid fascination how the head fell on the forest ground and rolled for a few metres before laying still. He quickly cut down the rest of the bundle and did not even stop to look how the headless body fell down.

Soon he and Legolas had cut down at least twenty orcs, some were still alive but paralysed by the spider poison, the slit the throats of those. There was a tricky moment when one orc was not so paralysed as he looked and tried to strangle Legolas. Elrohir quickly killed it but they both sat panting for a while.

Their search was finally rewarding when Legolas cut open a bundle and saw a paralysed elf in it. 'Elrohir, he is still alive! Help me carry him down.'

Elrohir tried to push back his disappointment when he saw that the elf wasn't Elladan. He nonetheless helped Legolas and when they reached the ground again they carried the elf back to the others.

Suddenly they heard Golben give the signal that the spiders were returning. Legolas quickly took Elrohir's arm and dragged him away. 'I am sure someone else found him.'

…

_This must be the hundredth orc I cut loose. _Elrond thought disgustingly. He let the carcass fall down without looking. It was true that he and the other elves in this tree had already rescued two elves, but none of them was his son. 'Glorfindel, help Badrandir carry that elf away. I am going to look over there!'

With determination he quickly made his way through the branches, and started to cut open yet another bundle. Dark hair, very much like his own, was sticking out from the bundle. With a racing hearth Elrond proceeded to cut away the rest of the webbing. And then he looked upon his son's face. Elladan was very pale and breathed very slightly but he was obviously alive. He took his son carefully in his arms and proceeded to make his way to the ground. He had almost reached it when he heard a hissing sound behind him. He whirled around, only to look into the eight eyes of the biggest spider he had ever seen. Carefully he laid Elladan behind him. Then he grabbed his sword, ready to defend his son with his life.

…

Thranduil woke up with a start. He had dreamed of his son again, freeing orcs in a spiders' lair. Although he tried to convince himself it was only a dream, (why would Legolas possibly free orcs?) he could not ignore it. _It has been long enough. I am going to find my son._

Half an hour later he was outside, surrounded by the royal guard, and with a quick command he mounted his horse his horse and rode out of the gate.

…

**A timely update! I'm very happy to see that some still read this even after the long break… A big thank you for **_**Viresse,**__**JDLuvaSQEE,**__**Rachielle, LeoLuin **_**and**_** Issy! **_**I was very happy to read your reviews! **

**If you have any questions/suggestions/critique etc. please review! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Meetings in grief  
>Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.<br>The twins are 15 year. (about a century)  
>Legolas is 1213 year. (50/55 year)**

  
>Elrond barely avoided the spider when it attacked again. It's belly was exposed for a moment when it tried to prick the elf. Elrond leaped forwards and tried to hit the belly, the spider was faster, and he had to jump back to avoid one of its legs.<p>

Sweat was already pouring down his face and pricking in his eyes when he lunged forward again. All other sounds seemed to have ceased. His sword crashed against the mighty jaws of the spider and for a moment they were locked in a battle of strength, then the spider closed his jaws and moved back, taking Elrond's sword with him. With a sweep of its ugly head the sword was sent flying away from the combatants.

If a spider can look smug, than surely this one does. Elrond thought dismayed as he grabbed his dagger from its sheath. Armed with only a knife he again attacked the spider, aiming for its belly. The spider avoided his thrust and one of his legs landed full in Elrond's stomach. The elf lord fell down on his back and felt more then saw the great sting coming towards him. He rolled quickly to the right, slashing with his dagger as he did so.

The spider hissed in pain and Elrond had the chance to stand up again. Carefully backing away from the spider he searched for his sword. It lay gleaming next to his son. Elrond shuddered at the thought that, had the spider thrown the sword with a little more strength, the cold steal surely would have hit Elladan.

A moment of doubt grabbed Elrond then, if he moved to his sword, he and thus the spider, would also move towards the one he was trying to protect. The choice was made when the spider lunged forward. Elrond stumbled backwards, almost falling over Elladan's prone body, and felt blindly for his sword. As soon as his hand encircled the hilt Elrond slashed at the spider's head.

The beast screeched when Elrond's sword found an eye. The elf didn't stop and his knife soon found another eye. Enraged the spider tried to bite the elf, but found only air. With a battle cry Elrond lifted his sword and brought it down on the place between the spider's head and it's body. The spider stumbled for a moment, before collapsing on the ground.

Panting Elrond grabbed his son and started running to the others.

**…**

Thranduil stood motionless, taking in the scene before him. Dead spiders littered the ground and every now and then also saw a dead elf. A bit earlier they had encountered a messenger, bearing the news of a traitor and the dead of Malkarion. They had quickly ridden further to inform the parents of the deceased.

_They must have been the lucky ones_ Thranduil thought. The patrol that had ridden a few hours behind them had met a terrible fate, it seemed. He dismounted, walking over the blood sodden leaves. Beneath a spider he saw a dead elf, he pushed the spider away, and saw the blond hair of the elf, for a moment he did not dare to breath and then he saw that this elf was much older than his son. A wave of relief, accompanied by guilt, washed over him. He picked the elf up and placed him by the other bodies.

'My lord! This is not the whole patrol. We count only seven elves.'

'Find their tracks! Half of the warriors will take the dead back to the halls, the others will continue the search.'

'The tracks lead south, my lord.'

'Well, follow them then!' Thranduil ordered. He called his horse and it didn't take long before the remaining warriors had ridden into the forest.

**…**

With a sigh Elrond sat back. 'They will all recover. Some of them are already waking and the others are close to it.' With a tender smile he stroke Elladan's hair. Elrohir was sitting on the edge of the litter, keeping an eye on his twin. Legolas was sleeping, rolled up in a blanket.  
>Golben was pacing restlessly through their makeshift camp, checking on the wounded warriors every now and then. One was already awake and arguing that he was well enough to sit up, while his friend thought he wasn't. The soft argument was terrible familiar to the argument Elrond had had with Legolas, but a few days ago.<p>

This was the first moment that Elrond could simply sit and think. A shiver ran down his spine when he realised how close his sons had been to death. Captured by a murderer, a cave-in, separated from the warriors after a spider attack and captured by spiders. It was truly shocking, now he had time to think of it. So much had happened in so little time.

He heard a soft moan next to him, and sat up a little straighter. Elrohir was now holding Ellandan's hand, whispering encouraging words. 'Come on, Elladan, open your eyes. You are safe now.'

Elladan's eyelids opened very slowly. Above him were two blurs, that he instinctually recognised as his father and brother. From far away he heard a voice. 'Can you hear me? How much fingers am I holding up?'

He slowly focused his vision and saw a hand in front of him. 'Two fingers.' He whispered. Now he could clearly see the relieved face of his family. 'What happened?'

'It does not matter, my son. You are safe now.'

There was a slight commotion at the edge of the camp. Then Legolas came running towards them. 'Get up! The spiders are coming! Get up!'

Without pausing, Elrond quickly lifted his son. ('Ada I can walk!') Elrohir grabbed their weapons and followed his father to the north. While running he screamed over the commotion. 'Legolas! How is this possible! We are far away from the nest!'

Legolas answered, while jumping over some fallen trees. 'They must have smelled us! Our break-in in their lair must have angered them!'

It was a nightmarish run, and Legolas would remember little of it in the future. Somewhere between the first battle with the spiders and their break-in, some of his wounds had opened again, he could feel the warm liquid running down his back but he kept quiet. Every time he looked back, the spiders were closer.  
>He heard hissing above him too. 'They are in the trees! Watch out for their webs!' Already he saw sticky strands appear before them.<p>

'HURRRY!' With a quick movement he sliced through a few strands. They were not going fast enough! Before him he saw a warrior stop for a moment, and taking aim at the spiders. 'Don't stop! RUN!'

All around him he saw white webbing appear. Without looking where he placed his feet he ran on, and suddenly fell. His foot was stuck. With desperation he slashed with his knife at the webbing, he could now clearly see the spiders. It were at least fifty! With a sob of relief he finally freed his foot. He saw that others, too, were stuck and moved quickly to help them. Elrohir ran past him, with Elladan leaning on him. Further back Elrond was helping Glorfindel.

We are not going to make it! Legolas thought. And then, the spiders dropped from the trees. He saw them coming but stood frozen. Not able to understand that, after all the fighting, this really was the end. He stepped back, and fell in another web. Helplessly he could do nothing more than watch when the spiders attacked.

'DAGO I GOTH!' /_slay the enemy_/ The mighty battle cry rang loud and clear through the woods and all that heard it felt their hearts lift. Surrounded by an aura of magnificence the elven king ran into battle. His silver sword sent shivers of dread down the enemy's spine. Where he stood the darkness fled and in a blink of an eye he and his company had driven the spiders back. Then he could contain his worries no longer and dismounted, searching for his son.

He found Legolas in a gigantic web. 'Legolas!' With a great sweep of his sword he freed him. 'Never make me worry so again!' And then he could finally embrace his son.

'Ada, I'm all sticky.' Legolas protested against his shoulder. The king didn't react to his words, he merely lifted him and hold him tighter. His son still secure in his hands he mounted his horse and waited until all the others were also ready to depart.

They had been riding for some time when Thranduil felt his tunic becoming wet. A sudden glance down revealed that on the front of his tunic a great brown stain was growing. Puzzled he looked down, he had not realised that he was injured. Then the truth struck like a lightning bolt. 'Legolas, You are bleeding! Someone get a healer!'

The king quickly spread his cloak and placed his son on it. Legolas was already protesting that he was fine, although his pale, tense face spoke of a complete different truth. With Elrond's help he removed his tunic. Thranduil watched anxiously while the healer unrolled the bandages. His eyes sparked anger when he saw the numerous, thin, bleeding, lashes. 'Who did this?'

He saw Legolas cringe when Elrond had to peel the last bandages off. He could do no more then hold his son's hand. When Elrond was done he quickly ordered a litter. He gently forced his son to look at him, in the blue eyes, exactly the same colour as his own, he saw tears of pain. 'Why did you not tell me? The ride must have pained you greatly. Do not hesitate to ask for help when help is needed.'

Legolas tried to look down, and found he could not. Looking into his father's eyes finally made him realise that he was truly safe. Suddenly he wasn't shameful of his tears and let them flow. He felt his father's arms enclosing him gently, and he relaxed, knowing that his father would take care of everything.

Thranduil felt his son lean into his embrace and he felt his breath evening out. Legolas was asleep in a few minutes. The prince didn't notice when he was placed on the litter, and soon the elves where on their way to safety.

…

**I actually wanted to post this chapter last Saturday but with Christmas coming up I wasn't able to do it. Although Christmas is already gone I still want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and, if I can't post before it, a happy new year!**

**Thanks **_**Rachielle, Issy **_**and **_**Tindomerel **_** for your reviews! **

**Please read and review! **

**Btw, I saw the hobbit Saturday, What an amazing movie! For those that haven't seen it yet, really you should!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Meetings in grief**

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.  
>The twins are 15 year. (about a century)<br>Legolas is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)  
><strong>**….  
><strong>

The first thing Legolas was aware of was a rhythmic shaking, but he paid it no heed. Soon the shaking stopped and he was gently laid on a soft surface. He groaned softly. 'Sleep, my son. You are home.' Someone pulled his boots off and kissed him gently on his brow. Then Legolas let the sleep overwhelm him.

Thranduil stood up quickly and walked to his own chamber. It eased his heart greatly that Legolas was home once again. With a sigh he pulled of his travel stained cloak. He quickly made a warm bath and relaxed in the warm water. When the water was almost completely cooled he got out and dressed in his royal robes. He groaned when he thought about what awaited him. His advisers would surely complain about his sudden departure. He placed his crown on his head before heading to the throne room.

He was only halfway when he encountered the first advisor. 'My lord, a moment please?' He handed Thranduil a bunch of papers. 'These are the trade agreements with Dale. They want an answer as soon as possible.'

With a quick bow he walked away. Thranduil could do no more than walking on. It was not soon after the first advisor had left, that the second was standing beside him. 'My lord, a moment? These are demands of the woodmen for more land. If I may be so free to suggest I would say they have plenty already.' With that he dumped another staple of papers on the ones the king was already holding.

Thranduil watched irritated how this advisor, too, walked away. He had not set ten steps when the next adviser came. 'My lord, can I have a bit of your time? Some of the rafts are leak, this are the prices of repair and materials. It is of the uttermost importance for our trade.'

It took all that Thranduil had not to snap at the advisor. He watched calmly how the elf walked away. The staple papers he was now holding came above his own head. This was absurd. He entered the throne room, only to be greeted with various elves that all demanded _'a moment please?' _or '_A bit of your time, your Highness?'_ He sat on his throne for a moment, just watching all the elves around them. He was not aware that another advisor had decided to bother the other member of the royal family.

…

'My lords, I must insist. This is important for the whole Woodland realm.' The oiled voice of the advisor spoke.

Elladan glared back angry. 'I don't care. Your prince is sleeping after a tiresome journey. You cannot wake him.'

The advisor, whose name was Camendir, tried again to go past the twins. 'My lords, please, the prince must do this work. It is part of his duties.'

Elrohir stepped forward. 'One. The prince _must_ do nothing. Two. Go to Caradhras with your duties!'

'My lord! You have no right to speak to me thusly!' Camendir spoke offended. 'I could tell your father, you know?'

'Go ahead.' Elladan said with grim amusement. 'Go ahead and tell him. I am sure he would love to hear about you trying to disturb his patient. And we do have the right. Might we remind you who our father is. So unless you are the son of the king, we may speak to you as we please. Now get away!'

'The king will hear about this!' Camendir shouted, while storming away.

'Give him our kindest regards!' Elrohir cried back.

The door behind them opened, revealing a somewhat bemused prince. 'Elladan? Elrohir? Why all the shouting?'

The twins quickly put their arms around his shoulders and ushered him inside. 'You should not worry about it. Come, let us get you back in bed.'

Although Legolas protested he still let them lead him to his bed. If he was completely honest with himself he would admit that he was still tired. The three boys sat for a moment in silence when Elladan started to fidget. A few times he opened his mouth but he never made a sound. 'What is it 'Dan? Out with it.' Elrohir said.

Elladan took a deep breath. 'I wanted to thank you, Legolas. And you too, 'Ro, for coming to me when the spiders had me. Ada told me how you two tried to find me all by yourselves.'

Elrohir quickly hugged his brother. 'You don't have to thank us therefore! You would have done the same!'

'Yes, but I still felt the need to thank you. Elrohir, you are already my brother. Legolas, I would be honoured to call you my gwador.' /_Sworn-brother_/

Legolas smiled before hugging Elladan too. 'I would be honoured to accept such a title.'

…

The doors from the throne room flew open. 'My king, this is unacceptable! Absolutely discourteous!'

Thranduil looked up from where he was seated. 'Camendir, a good day to you too, I'm fine, thanks for asking.'

'After I heard the happy news that your royal highnesses were back, I went straight to the prince's room, since there is much work to be done.' The advisor did not notice the sudden silence that had fallen in the room. 'Suddenly, when I was just opening the door, those two twins, nay rascals, blocked my way. I asked them politely to move, yet they refused! Not only that, they also insulted me!'

'You Did WHAT!?' The king thundered. 'Did you wake my son?'

Surprised by the furious tone Camendir quickly stepped back. 'My lord?'

'Did. You. Wake. My. Son?!'

'No, my lord, like I said, they wouldn't let me in.'

'Good. Be very happy about that, advisor, or you would have been in much more trouble. My son is resting and he should remain resting. And let me _never_ hear you insult our honoured guests again.'

'My lord, please, I know you must have had a tiring journey, but duties first. The prince is royalty and he must sacrifice things, like sleep, every now and then.'

Some others in the room took a quick step back, Thranduil's glare could have turned the sun into ice. 'My son is injured. He has been in life-threatening situations and he carries the wounds still. I will not have him disturbed.'

Camendir still dared to go against his lord, making others wonder if he was even sane. No one in his right mind would oppose the king when he looked like that. 'Child-injuries! When he was little he could escape his duties with a broken toe or other small wounds, but not now. He has reached adulthood, my lord, the time for cuddling and protecting is over. He should do his duties, not make excuses for them!'

'CAMENDIR, if you speak just one word more, I would do something that I could possibly regret. My son, your prince, is injured and must recover before he can see to his duties once more. Or do you doubt my capability as a father? Do you think that I would accept weak excuses from my son? No, I know well the price for being royalty, and so does my son. I would let him work if he could, but he can't. Now get out of my eyes. And if I hear you have come to my son, you will regret it.'

With a hasty bow, Camendir practically ran out the room. With a deep sigh Thranduil turned back to the others. 'That counts for you all. I will not have my son be disturbed, am I clear?'

A chorus of '_Yes, my lord'_ and _'crystal-clear, my lord'_ echoed through the chamber. Then another advisor spoke. 'My lord, forgive me if I am wrong, but I believe that Lord Angasicil was with the prince when they left. Why is he not here?'

Thranduil sighed, again, and then told the story of the treacherous advisor. He himself had only heard the full tale of what happened from the twins a few hours ago. He let out some of the happenings but did reveal that Angasicil was also behind the dead of his wife. After the tale was finished he sat on his throne, thinking again of his beloved.

'That filty-'

'The traitor!'

All around him where accusing to the ex-advisor.

'Wish I could personally kill that scum!'

Thranduil wished that too.

'Stupid Noldor! To just let him escape.'

The king was abruptly shaken out of his thought. 'Who said that?' When he found the one, he waved for him to stand before him. 'I will not have _anyone _insult my guest! I want you to go to the Imladris elves, and apologise, not only too lord Elrond, but too every warrior, aye and to the lords Elladan and Elrohir too, and also to the lord Glorfindel and the lord Erestor.'

The advisor bowed and hurried away, quick to do his king's bidding. Thranduil stayed in the room until it was almost dark. Then he too stood up and moved to his chambers. One of the advisors had given him an idea.

…

It still dark but close to the morning when a hooded person quickly walked to the stables. Without doubt he made his way to the king's stallion. Sirdal neighed happily when he saw his master. 'Hush.. be quiet, I do not want anyone to stop me.' The king whispered.

He had gathered some food, his weapons and some spare clothes for a long journey. He did not deem it necessary to saddle or bridle his horse. His father had declared him mad for riding as the wood elves did, but he rather liked it. Quickly throwing the pack over his shoulder he led his horse outside.

He was almost there when his path was blocked. He grabbed the hilt of his sword before realising that it was Elrond. 'Do not think you can stop me!'

Elrond just smiled, before grabbing his horses bridle and leading him outside. 'I do not intend to. He hurt and tried to kill my sons. That is enough for me to justify his death.'

Thranduil laughed grimly. 'The filth killed my wife. My son is injured because of him. I do not need justice, I need vengeance.'

'And we shall have it, Thranduil, we shall. May he rue the day that he turned his back on the elven realms and tried to harm it's children. I will not rest until he lies death.'

Thranduil nodded in agreement. 'A curse be upon you, Angasicil, may you never find rest under the stars and may vengeance find you!'

The two lords were unaware of it, but they looked terrifying. Anger was written on their faces on their graceful movements promised death to the traitor. If Angasicil saw it, he would be terrified.'

Then, blades raised in the air, the lords rode away, to vengeance.

…

**A quick update just before new year! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review!**

**Happy new year to you all!**

**Thanks for all the reviews **_**NIghtRunner144, LeoLuin, Issy, Rachielle **_**and **_**Major Kel!**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Meetings in grief  
><strong>**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.  
>The twins are 15 year. (about a century)<br>Legolas is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)  
><strong>**….**

****'An elf has been here, and very recently too. We are gaining on him.' Elrond stretched from where he had been examining the tracks. It had taken a few days before he and Thranduil had finally picked up the trail. Now they were finally close to their prey.

'Good, the sooner we find him, the sooner we can go home.' Thranduil spurred his horse on. 'It is not that I do not like travelling in your company, I merely want to be with my son.'

'I share your desire. I wonder what they are doing now.'

**…**

'It is quite easy, trust me.' Legolas assured the twins while they were still staring at the game with dubious expressions.

'But what is the fun in it? It actually looks kind of boring.'

'Try it!'

With a shrug of his shoulders Elladan lifted the ball. It had three holes in it, one for his thumb and two for his middle and third finger. 'It's pretty heavy.'

Mimicking the move that Legolas had showed him he rolled the ball towards ten small wooden poles, decorated with painted orc faces. The ball rolled almost immediately to the left and didn't hit any of them. Legolas laughed aloud. 'It is clear you have never done it before! Come on, try again, every turn you may try twice!'

Elladan tried again. 'I hit one! Look!'

With a grin Legolas noted it on his paper. 'Elrohir, you're next!'

After a few tries the twins were truly enjoying themselves. 'What happens if you hit all poles at once?'

'We call it orc-smash. If that happens, you may double the points of your next turn.'

'I'm really starting to like these Mirkwood games!' Elladan declared.

**….**

'So… how are you doing these days?' Elrond asked after another awkward silence. It had been on impulse that he and the king had departed together. Need for vengeance drove them together, but that did not mean they were comfortable around each other.

'Fine, I guess. You?' The king answered, looking to the horizon.

'Yea, me too.' They were silent again. They had followed the tracks for a time to the south. When they arrived at the mountains of Mirkwood they had turned east and crossed the Celduin. Now they were on a plain. The tracks were quite easy to find, probably because Angasicil had grown overconfident, thinking that he didn't have to fear for pursuit anymore. 'It has been a time we least saw each other, hasn't it?'

The king nodded, 'It has. I have not seen you since the last alliance.' They looked to each other for a moment before turning to look at the ground again. Their last parting had not been peaceful. It had resulted in Thranduil storming out of Elrond's tent and gathering what was left of his troops to ride back to Greenwood. 'Elrond, you do know I never meant to call you a... you know what, don't you?'

Elrond smiled, 'It was said in the heat of the moment. I also never meant that you were an arrogant, pompous-'

'Yes, yes! I know. It is a shame relations between our kingdoms have been strained ever since. Maybe we could renew the contact?'

'Sounds like an excellent idea.'

'Let us camp here, the sun is already setting. It is truly a shame we are not in Greenwood at the moment. Tonight is the feast of the hunter.'

'Feast of the hunter? I've never heard of it before.' Elrond smiled when a twinkling appeared in Thranduil's eye.

'It is my favourite. And it is no great wonder you've never heard of it, it is a feast from the woodelves, and it is entirely different than the feast you hold in Imladris.'

**….**

'Feast of the hunter? I've never heard of it before! What is it?'

Legolas looked genuinely surprised. 'It is one of the biggest feasts of the year! Everyone takes something to eat with them, and the royal family brings the wine. But now is not the time for talking, we have to prepare ourselves. A maid has brought you some clothes!'

A bit dubious Elladan and Elrohir entered the glade. Instead of the formal robes they had expected the maid had given them a decorated version of hunter's gear. Great fires were already burning and some woodelves were singing merely, roasting all kind of game on the spits. In the middle of the glade was a big pile of wooden spears. A few elves waved enthusiastically to them. 'Do you know them?' Elladan asked.

'Never seen them before, but let us go. It is said that no one can party better than the woodelves of Mirkwood.'

They joined the elves. A dark haired elf patted the ground next to him. Before Elladan sat he started to talk. 'You see that rabbit on the spit? My son brought that! He will be a fine hunter later, don't you think?'

The other elves burst out in laughter at this comment. 'Ah Ronir! You've been boasting about that all day!'

'No wonder!' called another elf 'he has too! I doubt _he _has shot anything edible!'

Ronir laughed before pointing to another spit. 'I shot that stag, something bigger than you could ever accomplish!' Turning to the twins he asked; 'Are you hungry? We've got plenty.'

Before they answered he called to another elf. 'We've go hungry guests over here!'

The elf grabbed some meat. 'Catch!'

The whole circle roared with laughter when the twins got the meat full in the face.

'I wish the prince would hurry! I'm parched!' Ronir exclaimed.

As if on cue, a clear bell rang out. 'The prince! The prince has arrived!'

Legolas walked in, head held high. He wore dark green clothes, green gems were stitched in it, making him glimmer when he walked past the fires. His head was crowned with a circlet of mitril and beautifully crafted emerald leaves. When all the attention was focussed on him he spoke. 'Elves of greenwood! Tonight we celebrate the feast of the hunter! I have but one very important announcement.'

The woodelves grinned broadly to each other, they knew what was coming, but it was an old tradition so they all pretended not to know and look grave.

Legolas took a deep breath and scanned the crowd. 'This year's wine is from Eregion, bottled in the year 876 of the second age!'

A loud cheer rose when elves rolled barrels wine to the feast. When everyone had eaten, the spits were removed from the fires and some elves grabbed instruments. All the elves rose and grabbed big, wooden spears from the pile in the middle. They started to hit the ground with them and soon a rhythmic pounding arose.

Drums, flutes and other instruments started to weave a melody through the pounding and suddenly all elves jumped up. They started jumping and dancing, still hitting the ground at exactly the right time. Suddenly one elf ran to a big fire, and jumped over it, he landed and pounded his spear at the right time. This seemed some kind of sign, for suddenly the other elves were running to the fires too. Some summersaulted, others simply jumped but they all flew over the fires.

Elladan and Elrohir were soon affected by the stimulating rhythm (and the wine), and they too started to dance. They truly didn't know how long they were feasting and how many cups of wine they had up, when they fell asleep at the edge of the glade, never taking their eyes of the woodelves, still jumping and singing merrily.

Elrohir groaned softly and shadowed his eyes with his hand. He had an enormous headache and the bright light didn't help one bit. Slowly he removed his hand with pinched eyes he looked in confusion at the chaos around him. Died out fires, sleeping elves and empty cups were everywhere. He vaguely remembered dancing and having fun, but his memory was blurry at its best. An annoyingly merry voice called. 'Rise and shine, dear Elrohir. The sun is up and the birds are chirping happily, this is no time for sleeping!'

His brother stirred besides him. 'Go away.'

Legolas was having none of it and pulled Elrohir up chatting all the time, the poor twin stumbled and clutched his head. 'Not so loud.'

With a cheerful laugh Legolas grabbed the other twin and half dragged them to a streamlet. 'Dunk your head in a couple of times, that should help!'

A few hours later the twins were truly awake again although they still had a pounding in their heads. 'You could have warned us, you know. Although it is a well-known fact that woodelves learn to drink wine before they learn to walk, we Imladris elves don't.'

'I _am_ sorry. How's your headache?' Legolas bright smile belied his words, so the twins didn't bother answering. 'You know, someone has made a little verse about you. Shall I recite it?'

'Please don't!' Elladan groaned, trying to cover Legolas' mouth, it did not work.

'Have you heard of the elves from Rivendell?/ I believe they feel slightly unwell/ Too much wine/makes them whine/so please do not yell!'

'That' Elrohir exclaimed, 'was by far the worst poem I've ever heard!'

'Well, I _was_ slightly tipsy when I made it… I mean the one who made it was tipsy, not me. _I_ would never dare to make… never mind´

´So you are the culprit! Seriously, wine and whine? That does not rhyme, it is almost the same word!´

'Well, can you find a word that rhymes with wine?'

Elladan shrugged. 'How about nine? Or dine! Everything is better than whine!'

Elrohir nodded in agreement, 'Or fine, or line, or vine, or swine, or…'

…

'Thranduil, yonder is a cave and the tracks lead right towards it.'

'I see it. What shall we do? Wait until he sleeps or just attack right away?'

They both fell silent. It was true they wanted vengeance, but their honour wouldn't let them attack an sleeping person, yet if they attacked straight away, they could both end up with an arrow in their chests.

'let us surprise him, we can wait until he goes away from the cave and attack.' Elrond suggested, Thranduil nodded in agreement but found it hard to sit still, so close to this murderer. He sat down nonetheless, and unsheathed his sword. After a few seconds he stood up again, watched the cave for any movements, and sat down.

Elrond suppressed an irritated groan when Thranduil repeated this. His eyes followed the movements of the king, sitting down, unsheathing his sword, standing up, watching the cave, putting the sword back, sitting down, unsheathing his sword and so on. Finally he had enough. 'Sit down, Thranduil! We will go when evening falls, you can better take a little rest.'

His words had no effect on the king and he was forced to watch Thranduil sit down, unsheathe his sword, stand up, watch the cave, put the sword back, sit down, unsheathe his sword.. Elrond buried his face in his hands, this was going to be a long day. His companion meanwhile stood up, watched the cave, put his sword back, sat down, unsheathed his sword and stood up again.

…**.**

**So, the story is coming to an end. There are a few chapters left, and an epilogue. Thanks for all the reviews and I hope I can post the next chapter coming weekend! **

**Thanks **_**Rachielle, Issy, Nithiel, Frodo's sister **_**and **_**MDarKspIrIt!**_

**Please review! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Meetings in grief  
><strong>**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.  
>The twins are 15 year. (about a century)<br>Legolas is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)  
><strong>**…**

They had watched the cave for a few days now, but still nothing had happened, so they sneaked forwards in the night, at the end of their patience and burning for revenge.

Thranduil and Elrond looked down at the sleeping form of Angasicil, their blades were hovering just inches from his chest. Still they hesitated. Should they kill a defenceless men, even if he had done horrible things and caused unspeakable grief? A firm kick from Thranduil solved their problem. 'Stand up, scum.'

Angasicil's eyes cleared and instinct alone prevented that he stood up and impaled himself on the swords. Emotions broke through his normally unreadable face, surprise, confusion, anger and fear.

Elrond reached down and pulled the traitor up by his collar. 'Get your sword.'

Angasicil scrambled up and leaped for his sword, then he backed away slowly, looking for all the world like a startled deer. 'You can't do this!'

Thranduil came closer. 'You gave my wife to humans to be killed, you kidnapped and tortured my child, which almost resulted in his death,' his voice grew gradually louder. 'do not tell me what I can or cannot do!'

Angasicil jumped up and ran away, but the elven lords were driven by the rage for revenge and easily overtook him. Angasicil smacked against the ground and didn't move. Elrond ruthlessly grabbed him and pulled him up again. 'Get your weapon.'

'It is not fair! Two against one. You do not rule like that! You give mercy to those that beg for it, you hold trial. You do not kill without giving the accused a chance to defend himself before court!' Panic was growing in Angasicil's eyes, and he looked from Thranduil to Elrond, searching for a bit of mercy in their eyes and finding none.

'But I am not a king here, I'm a father, a husband, who almost lost everything he holds dear, and you are the reason of that. Think you that I care for justice or a fair trial?! Nay, my only desire is to kill you. There are no advisers or subjects to watch me, no people to judge this deed. I can do as I please.'

'Lord Elrond!' With a shrill voice Angasicil turned to the half elf, 'you are a merciful lord, save me from this madman!'

But Elrond stood and said nothing to indicate that he had heard the words.

'I never intended for your children to be taken. I wouldn't have killed them, I swear! They were an accident!'

Elrond raised his eyebrows, 'what would you have done then? Give them to the men? Sell them into slavery and doom them for an immortal life under a cruel master? Do not seek mercy from me, foul one.'

Finally Angasicil understood that is was hopeless, he grabbed his sword and crouched in a defensive stance.

Like two lions that work together to bring down a big prey, one distracting, one attacking, so did the elven lords fight. Elrond attacked first, sword flashing, and Angasicil could only block the swipe. Thranduil attacked almost at the same time, with a low swing that left a big bleeding wound on Angasicil's thigh. The traitor almost howled in agony but managed to block the second stroke from Thranduil, which otherwise would have beheaded him.

So focused he was on Thranduil's sword, that he could not avoid Elrond's blade. The sword cut through skin, sinew and muscle, stopping deeply in his belly. One glance was enough to know that this wound was fatal.

Angasicil sunk to the ground, trying to stop the blood flow with his hands and failing. Vaguely he saw two shapes above him.

Thranduil raised his sword, ready to end the traitor's life for although the wound was fatal, it could still take hours of agony before the other elf would die. His sword pierced Angasicil's heart.

Time suddenly started moving again, it had stood still during the fight but now it was moving again. Both lords heard the wind howling around them and became aware of the soft sounds of wildlife. Panting from the fight the two stood over the body, both a little shocked. Eventually Elrond sheathed his sword.

Without much conscious thoughts they went back to their camp and cleaned their blood-stained swords. Suddenly Thranduil jumped up and ran to a few bushes, sinking to his knees as he vomited violently. 'Thranduil!'

Elrond quickly kneeled next to the proud king and helped him up when his stomach was completely empty. 'What's wrong?'

The king waved vaguely with his hand. 'I've never killed an elf, not like this.'

Elrond watched him with incomprehension. 'But you were at Doriath when the sons of Fëanor attacked, weren't you?'

'That was different, it was self-defence, and I don't believe I killed anyone. This was two against one, it _was_ unfair. We should have captured him, not… this.'

'Had we captured him he would still be dead. For what other punishment could the court give to such a traitor. Were he banished he would still be a danger. They would've executed him. And this was your right, as a father and as a husband. I would not say be happy for I understand that this deed is not one of happiness. I would say be satisfied that your son is save and your wife avenged.'

'You are wise indeed, and I do feel contend to know that he will never endanger Legolas again. Thank you, friend.'

With a smile Elrond guided Thranduil to the horses, and they both rode away, leaving the traitor to rot.

…

_Two hundred twenty-three, two hundred twenty-four, two hundred twenty-five_… Elrohir studied the floor attentively. Two hundred twenty-five tiles. He knew it for sure, he had already counted them three times. He looked up to Legolas, who was sitting on a throne that stood next to the kings throne. With a mithril crown and garments covered in jewels he looked every inch the prince he was. Behind him stood an advisor, who sometimes whispered something in his ear. Elrohir wondered how Legolas could still hold his eyes open.

If he had known that _this_ would be required of him… The normal life in Mirkwood was very busy and very, very boring. Legolas had to attend to various councils, meetings and delegations and since Elladan and Elrohir were also heirs of an kingdom the elves of Mirkwood naturally expected them to do the same. He and Elladan had decided after exactly one day of doing this that they would do _anything_ to avoid it. So they had made a pact. He would sit in until halfway morning, when the daily council was hold. After that council Legolas would go the his father's office and do some paperwork, leaving Elladan and Elrohir free to do as they pleased. After a formal lunch, where they had to were horrible _itching_ robes, Elladan would take over until the midday council was dismissed. Then they would go to weapons practice, which lasted till long after dinner.

Legolas had explained that he normally only had to attend to the morning council and that he spent the rest of the day training but now the king was away he had to take up his father's duties.

'Lord Elrohir!' The sneering voice of Camendir broke through his thoughts.

Elrohir looked up to find the whole council waiting for his answer. 'Er... Yes.'

This answer lifted a few eyebrows, Camendir cleared his throat. 'I was _asking_ what you thought about the proposal, my lord?'

'Yeah.. right. Which proposal exactly?'

The advisor looked now very irritated. 'The proposal about trade between our realms, the proposal we were discussing this entire morning.'

Legolas held his hand up and the council immediately focussed on him. 'It has been a long morning, let us stop now and continue after lunch.' He stood up and walked away, quickly followed by Elrohir.

'By the stars, Legolas, how can you not be sleeping after hours of discussing the same things over and over again?!'

'I pay attention to what's being said, and think about the most action most beneficial for the realm. Do you not attend council in Imladris?'

'Sometimes, but our councils do not last longer than one hour, only in the greatest danger do we sit down and discuss something for hours and hours on. '

Legolas laughed merrily. 'Then I wish our councils are more like those in Imladris, you are completely right my friend, they are very boring. But we have to. The councils are more than places were compromises are made, it is a place for a subtle fight for power, trying to get the point across that is most beneficial for your House. Believe me when I say that it is a fight to earn the kings favour, or better yet, to earn the kings gratitude, for than you can expect that he will support you in times of need. That is also the reason I have to pay attention, one wrong decision on my part can get two houses fighting and then others will take side until the people of Greenwood are completely divided, which would be disastrous.'

'We don't have Houses in Imladris, every advisor tries to do the best for the realm, not for his or her family, Imladris is much smaller I believe, we don't have behind-the-door politics.'

'In Greenwood we have five important Houses. Those are all sindarin, so to make sure that the sylvan also have their say, we also have five sylvan families attending the council. And every House or family lives somewhere else, or makes something else. For example; Camendir is of the House of the pines, they are well learned and sell the best food. So they want more hunters and more trade. Others live more south, closer to Dol Guldor, and they want more protection, meaning more warriors. And more warriors means lesser hunters.'

'Living here must be very complicated. But let us forget the politics for this moment. Let's go outside, it is too good a day to sit inside doing paperwork. You have done nothing else for the past two weeks, much to the annoyance of Erestor and Glorfindel!'

'The healers declared me healed one and a half week before, they mustn't mother me so!'

'Poor you, it must be terrible, being forced not to work. Where shall we go?'

'Let us go to the training fields, I want to practise hand-to-hand combat. What say you?'

'Nay, let us go to the pool, you know that you aren't allowed to train hand-to-hand.'

'I just said the healers declared me healthy! Why-'

Elrohir sighed. Every time they went to the practice field the same discussion started. 'They said you were ready for light work. Hand-to-hand is not exactly light.'

When Legolas still looked as if he would object, Elrohir called. 'Race you to the pools!' Knowing that Legolas could never resist a challenge. On their way they grabbed a stunned looking Elladan around the arms and dragged him off.

…

**Sorry for the **_**very**_** long wait. It has been extremely hectic. I had finished with one thing for school, and the next assignment had to be done. I really wanted to finish this chapter but I simply couldn't. **

**Thanks for all the reviews **_**Cheetahstar, gginsc, Issy **_**and **_**AmazingWriter123**_**! I hope you all liked this long-delayed chapter!**

**I believe I've fixed the learn/teach thing. I am not a native speaker so I do make mistakes, thanks for pointing one of them out to me!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Meetings in grief  
><strong>**Disclaimer: They are not mine, they all belong to Tolkien. I don't gain money with writing this. It is for entertainment only.  
>The twins are 15 year. (about a century)<br>Legolas is 12/13 year. (50/55 year)  
><strong>**…**

'I am sorry for your loss. Know that whenever you need anything you can come to me. Malkarion was greatly loved by all.' With grave eyes Legolas watched the family bow and walk away.

'I wish father was back... He's much better in this kind of things. I never know what to say.' Legolas sighed.

'You did just fine, and our fathers can't be far now, there is no way Angasicil could outsmart them.' Elladan said, while his brother nodded in agreement.

'Aye, they are probably on the way home now. They could even walk inside the throne room right at this moment.' All three elflings watched the door, as if expecting that Elrond and Thranduil would walk in. They did not, however, so the elflings decided to leave the room.

On their way to the training field they saw Glorfindel and Erestor. The two tutors immediately dragged the three elflings to the training fields for their 'long neglected, very important lessons.' The (quite unhappy) elflings spent the rest of the morning studying the difference in tactics between Mirkwood, -'It's called Greenwood!' Legolas exclaimed- , and Imladris.

It was late in the afternoon that a messenger interrupted the 'long neglected, very important lessons.'

'My lords, a pigeon just arrived, the king and the lord Elrond are but a two hours' ride away.'

With glimmering eyes Legolas turned to the twins. 'Great! They couldn't have chosen a better time to arrive. Tonight is the night of the stag. We can plan a feast for their arrival on top of that for the night of the stag!'

'Another party?!'

'The night of the stag is more than just a party, it's the first full moon after the feast of the hunter. We honour the stags and renew our relationship with them. When it is night we all go in the northern forest, where the stags live. Every adult above one yén* searches for a stag that's willing to carry it at the big race. A stag will only carry an elf when it respects him. My father always wins the race, because the leader of the stags always carries him.'

Elladan frowned. 'But you hunt the stags don't you, why would they respect you?'

'Aye, but we only hunt the old or the unhealthy, not the young or those necessary for the stags to survive. But we also protect the forest, and in turn the stags warn us when they sense danger. We eat no meat on this day, and we light no fires, so the stags will not be afraid. We sing songs so the stags know we don't come to hunt them. We only ride stags on this night or when we want to impress someone. My father once rode a stag to Dale, you should've seen the reactions of the humans! They were stunned. It's truly a pity I'm not yet old enough.'

…

'You hear that, Elrond?' Thranduil asked. 'It is a pigeon send towards the palace, telling my son and yours about our arrival. The border guards have spotted us. Were we strangers, we would be surrounded by the warriors, weapons drawn and ready to kill.'

'Then I am glad we are not strangers. I still remember the woodelves fight during the Last Alliance, you were a fearsome foe and I was glad you were our ally, not our enemy.'

'Yet we were slaughtered. We were not prepared for fighting on a battlefield. My father thought he had enough experience, and my people were loyal to a fault. Clashing with the armies of the enemy is wholly different than ambushing them from the safety of the treetops. Curse my father's arrogance and my people's loyalty!' Thranduil said bitterly.

'Do not curse your father, or your people. The blame does not wholly lie on your father's shoulders. Foolishly we Noldor believed ourselves better than other elves. Never did we treat you with anything but contempt. You had no reason to fight united with us. The high king could have stopped this, but he didn't. It makes it at least as much his, our, fault as your father's.'

'Listen to ourselves.' Thranduil chuckled. 'Here we are blaming ourselves. Pride has finally be casted aside. Let our prejudices fade with it! No longer shall we believe the Noldor to be dishonourable kinslayers, this I vow.'

Elrond bowed his head as acknowledgement of the vow, before he made his own. 'Never again shall we call ourselves better than other elves, our pride has cost many lives, let us prevent it from doing so again. Every woodelf shall be hold in the highest esteem, this I promise.'

With an amicable handshake the two rulers confirmed the pack. Then they spurred their horses to a greater speed, and only when Elrond heard a song in a for him unknown language they broke the solemn silence.

While Thranduil was explaining the meaning of the song stags appeared and followed the two horses. Only when they reached the great doors that guarded the kingdom of the woodelves did the stags go again. But the lords did not care that the stags had left them, because before them stood their sons, beaming happily. Quickly Thranduil dismounted, vaguely aware of Elrond doing the same, and ran to his son.

Legolas looked like he was before his mother's death. He seemed completely healed from his injuries although his father could still detect a little weariness. But when he opened his arms and hugged him without hesitation he knew his son was hale again. When he hold his son at an arm length distance he realised Legolas was talking. 'Wish you were there… was absolutely amazing… the twins got drunk, Ada, DRUNK!... they had an headache for the rest of the day… trade negotiations with Imladris… good proposal.. the house of the Pines is satisfied… send more warriors to the eastern border… Golben is very angry with you… says it's not becoming a king… sneaking off in the night…'

Laughing Thranduil held his hand up. 'Calm down and breath my son. I believe a lot has happened in my absence. Let us worry about the woodland realm tomorrow. Tonight there's a race to win!'

A few hours later they were sitting in the great halls, eating all kinds of delicious greenery and salads. The king, one hand on Legolas' shoulder, the other holding a goblet of wine, seemed completely satisfied. 'My son, where did you say Golben was? I have no desire to speak with him tonight, or tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, at least until his anger has cooled down a bit.'

Legolas giggled softly, as if laughing at a personal joke. 'He went to his room, he had a long journey and he is no king, so he doesn't have to be present tonight.'

'A long journey?' Said the king, bringing his goblet to his lips. 'When did he leave, and where to did he go?'

This time Legolas laughed aloud. 'Why, father, I sent him of course! You did not think I would let you or lord Elrond go to fight _him_ without a proper guard?'

Thranduil choked in his wine. 'Excuse me? Do you imply that he followed us?! Impossible, I would have noticed!'

'Noticed, young one? I do not think so! You and Elrond were so focussed on the hunt you wouldn't have noticed a group of drunken dwarves! Your son showed much more sense this time. You should have known better! You are the king, you cannot go sneaking off in the night just because it pleases you. Had Legolas not seen you, you could have walked right in a disaster!'

'Golben,' Thranduil weakly said, sending his son a dark glare. 'nice to see you this eve.'

'You should thank your son for being so responsible, it is clear he did not get that trait from his father! Mulishly stubborn you are! Were you still an elfling I would lock you up in your room, or better yet, let you muck out the stables! I cannot believe that you…'

'Golben, have a drink.' Thranduil hastily exclaimed, shoving his wine in the warrior's hand. 'Let us speak tomorrow in my office, _in private_, if you please. Just enjoy the feast tonight.' With a sigh Thranduil turned to his son, who was trying very hard not to laugh. 'Not a word about this to anyone, understand?'

'Yes, Ada.' Legolas giggled.

…

The following weeks were a time of recovery and friendship. Relations between the realms strengthened. The friendship between Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir encouraged the Imladris elves to befriend the Mirkwood elves. Glorfindel and Golben became fast friends, both happy to talk to someone of their own time.

When the day came that the Rivendell elves had to go home, it was met with much regret.

With a sigh Elladan and Elrohir bound their last packs on the horses, helped by Legolas. 'Farewell gwador. We will miss you.'

'As I will miss you. Mayhap I could come to visit coming summer?'

'You would be more than welcome!'

The three embraced briefly before the twins climbed on their horses. Elrond and Thranduil spoke briefly together before they too parted. 'Farewell, elves of fair Imladris!' The king said. 'May the waterfalls ever flow in your valley!'

'Farewell, Elves of the wild greenwood! May your kingdom ever endure!' Elrond called back, before turning his horse, and riding away. His sons on his side, and his warriors following them.

…**.**

**It is done… I finished it. **

**A big thank you for all my reviewers, followers and those that added my story to their favourite story list! Without you I would never have finished it!**

**Thanks for all the feedback etc. It really encouraged me to get on and **_**finally **_**write this chapter!**

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**Issy, nira lani, BeeGee, booklover1598, MoonSurfer3343, MDarKspIrIt, Leoluin, Kirala, nightwillow14, Oleanne, Rachielle, Lazy Gaga, Kira, ElvesAreEpic, Kasumi, Viresse, JDLuvaSQEE,** **Tindomerel, NIghtRunner144, Major kel,** **Naruthirnith-of-Greenwood.001, Nithiel, Frodo's sister,** **Cheetahstar,** **gginsc,** **AmazingWriter123 and Glorelwen.**

**Followers:**

**Duckreb, Hirilnin, never123, nightwillow14, Karush, LeoLuin, heiressofanor, booknerd95, arakmellon, Moleinahill, Maddyj74, bullriding lover, Arag, Rachielle, ElvesAreEpic, a shadow in the dark, Lucy-lulu12, Lazy Gaga, SeventhHokage1, darkdaysofsummer, Charna Toiba, ColdFire127, QueenPersephoneofHades, Tris86tania, buecherwurm91, JDLuvaSQEE, Viresse, blushingpixie, EricaLovegood, Estaron, harukatenohu, Bisuke, Adere, Leviathan of the Sea, Naruthirnith-of-Greenwood.001 , gginsc, Elfylover1996, Laerorn, Ruka29hawkes, hoopagnam, KTDA, AmazingWriter123, mistX, soccerlover91 and Historian14! **

**Those that added my story to their favs: **

**Arag, Cheetahstar, Dark Elven Sorceress, Fatal Lilly, Freddie23, Glorelwen, GreenleafUndomiel, Historian14, JDLuvaSQEE, Kicki von Berger, LeoLuin, Leviathan of the Sea, Lucy-lulu12, Naruthirnith-of-Greenwood.001, QueenPersephoneofHades, Rachielle, Sammygirl1209, SeventhHokage1, Tris86tania, ashala, blushingpixie, buecherwurm91, danielchoosenone, hoopagnam, mewsugarpudd, samtyr and soccerlover91.**

**A VERY BIG THANK YOU!**

**(hope I haven't forgotten anyone XD)**


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